Trust
by Valerianna
Summary: In light of recent events, this story is being re-written as "To Hold Eternity". But I am determined to keep this here just to remind myself of... many things. Thank you.
1. It's hard raising children in Amegakure

This can barely even be called as a fanfic. It's more like a... fake fanfic. Where the main characters barely appear and most of the stuff is made up based on the actually story. Nevertheless, I decided to do a fic like this. I am really trying to shoot for... deep meaning fic. Although I don't think I am qualified to write something like that, I hope I will get better at it. Ah~~ here we go.

People do not like to read useless stuff, Skip to the about 1/5 down and start reading. Don't say the first part sucks. It's necessary for plot. = =

Oh and since i didn't know that fanfic has a really skewed up spacing problem, i'll use the dashes shows elapse of time, i'll resubmit this.

**Part 1**

**It's hard to be the aunt of Pain in Amegakure **

"If you have the choice, would you go back in time and redo something that you have done wrong?"

"No."

"Why? Don't you have any regrets in life?"

"No."

"None at all? Not one single thing that you did?"

"No."

---------

I am living in a world where I considered being one of the high intelligent species. Cars, planes, and computers appear every single day. Rockets and space stations are floating around in outer space. It is the year 2009.

The most tragic thing I found in life is something called school. Because it is slowly corrupting my mind with useless information (in my opinion), and what is the use of acing school when there is no hope for you in life?

I am at an age where all my female friends have... that is to say, boyfriends, lovers, affairs... What ever you want to call it. Intimate relationship with the opposite sex... I sound so corny even now. But still everything started under a cherry tree, where Mei and I were eating lunch.

We were with a bunch of other friends, talking and chatting, when someone spotted a guy walking towards us.

Of course, it's not a surprise when guys come to talk to us. All my friends are really pretty, usually it's not my business because I tend to befriends with guy rather than actually gets intimate with them. Humans are superficial. With my looks I can pass as a normal and average. Not that I care. I'm happy the way I am.

But that guy isn't a normal average guy. When I looked up I saw his figure--he was dressing in all black--and I thought that he must be cold blooded, considering its like 90 degrees outside.

And I later found out how right I was. But that's not until much, much later.

He stopped when he was around 5 meters away from us. By this time every member of our little circle all stopped what we are doing and stared at him. Some even whistled, because undoubtly, he is hot.

He has fairly long black hair, his bangs hanging on down from his face. He has delicate and graceful features. He should appear in a comic book, where all male characters are inhumanly beautiful, and later, once again, I had to compliment on my instincts.

"Hello." He smiled at us and said softly.

Several of us gasped dramatically. Hic voice sounds like silk. The kind of voice where it sounds like honey was dripping on velvet. I blinked at him, and then quickly went back to my lunch and ate as fast as possible.

"Hi!"

"Hello!"

"Well, look, what do we have here...?"

Immediately my friends are surrounding him and practically all over him. He did not show any sign of displeasure, instead he talked with them in his soft and graceful way.

"What do you think?" Mei asked me.

"Nine." I said while finishing the last of my lunch.

"...Whoa, that's the highest yet." Mei said.

"Because he's smart." I said

It is true. Judge from what I have seen so far, he has a purpose of being here. If he does not, then he would not put up with their... swooning over him. I believe my friends do have brains of their own and doesn't go crazy over him. I really do not want to have one of them showing on my steps at the middle of the night with a suit case and a pathetic expression on their face that clearly written "I've been dumped."

"So what do you want?" I asked bluntly after finishing my yogurt.

"...Miss..." He smiled at me, and looks startled.

"My name is Chiro." I said in a kind way. Thinking that if he can act, I could act better, it's ok to be nice to everyone at first, just not later on.

He did something that surprised us all. He was suddenly quiet. He closed his eyes and breathed out deeply, then smiled.

Oh my god, when he smiles, it seems like the whole world would melt right there. But it's also strange. Why he smiles like that, as if he is suppressing something inside of him for a very long time, and let it out piece by piece, instead of exploding it.

"My name is Itachi. Uchiha Itachi." He said to me kindly. "I was looking for you."

I might want to point out, at that time; none of us girls cares about Naruto. Therefore we have absolutely no idea who he is. Although it is very bold and sad that he didn't even bother to hide his name.

---

It's been three month since I have met him. I found that he is surprisingly well educated in the history of Japan, and the arms and weapons area. He always smiles when facing anyone. That light smile that would dazzle anybody he wanted to dazzle. As if he doesn't know he has the power to dazzle others, he uses that smile almost all the time when facing strangers. Like our first serious conversation:

"If you think I am going to fall heads over heel for you like all my other friends then--"

Smile, "Did I say that?"

"...Well, if you have any ill intentions and mean any harm to me or the people around me--"

Smile, "Why would I have any ill intentions?"

"......I hate you."

Smile.

".........Stop smiling!"

"Why?"

"It's annoying!!!"

"...Oh. Do you mean that you already has fallen in love with me but don't want to admits it because it would be against your philosophy to fall in love with a stranger you have never met before?" And then smile.

"................. = =+" It is at that time, I realized he is evil. He is not only evil, he is very, very evil.

"Do you want to go out with me?"

I almost chocked. No wait, I did choke. On a bottle of diet coke.

"Why would I go out with a stranger?" I asked him crossly, after I coughed for like an hour. And he sat there looking at me with a smile on his face.

He said in a soft way. "What are you talking about? We're not strangers."

When he said that I almost saw a hint of his true emotion. Is it regret? Is it disgust? I'll never know, because at that point I am no match for him.

"What?" I asked.

"I mean-- We've known each other for 7 hours, right?"

"....."

And that is our first conversation. I don't remember ever agreeing to it, but somehow I'm showing him to my parents and my friends. We always went out together, and the feeling was addictive.

---

After three month I practically was facing enemies on all sides. Everyone I care about doesn't like him that much.

"You don't know anything about him! Where does he work? What does he do? His race and religion... His monthly income (= =lll How realistic is my mom…) What if he decided to ditch you?" That was from my mom.

And so when I got home I asked him softly, "What do you do for a living?"

He thought about it and said, "I'm an assassin."

I roared with laughter.

He smiles lightly and didn't say anything.

"What is your monthly income?"

"Any amount I wish it to be."

"Where do you work?"

"Anywhere I wish to work."

"Do you believe in god?"

"No."

"Are you going to ditch me?"

He didn't say anything, but caressed my face and said, "No."

It's the first time that he lied to me, and I realized later that lying once meaning lying over and over again later...

He was always going through books about history, philosophy, and weapons. I was under the impression that he was searching for something. But whenever I asked about it, he always smiles, and that alone, is enough to take my breath away.

"I'm leaving for a while." He said one day.

"Where are you going?" I asked, sit up from the couch.

"To a place where I belong." He said. And then handed me a pendent. It was a small charm in the shape of a leaf.

And when he walked out of that door, I felt that I was never going to see him again.

Then the realization slowly sinks in to me after that day. He didn't come back ever since. The only thing he left--to prove his existence-- was the small leaf shaped pendent. But who cares about that…

"I knew you guys would separate." Mei commented.

I glared at her. Finally I was beginning to lead a normal life, but she was ruining it.

"You guys are too much alike." She said.

"...."If I look half as good as him, then I would have no problem finding my other half, which I chose to be him anyway.

"There was always something... Something strange. You both are really kind..."

"Ahahahaha..." If that guy is kind, then I am an angel.

From the first time that we met, I chose him, I chose him to be mine forever, none other. And how did that affect me? Look at me now. I am practically one of my friends who show up on my doorstep with their suit case and with a pathetic expression written all over their face that clearly says, "I've been dumped."

Oh my god. I've been dumped.

I jumped up from the couch, the chips that were lying on my laps flew away, and lying on the other side of the room.

"What?" Mei asked, while cleaning up the mess I made.

"What is that?" I pointed to the TV.

There was a commercial about Naruto. The DVD version was released outside of Japan.

"Naruto." Mei said naturally, "I kind of liked it. Hey! There is this really cool kid's brother resembles your boyfriend, but he is a mass murderer, and he never smiles, Uchiha-san, I mean. Not him…hey! They even have the same name… Oh no, he gave you a fake name! Poor Chiro… he must be addicted to Naruto too, then…"

I turned to stone.

"I'm an assassin."

"I'm going back to where I belong..."

From that moment on, I decided the next time that I see him; I'm going to kill him.

That is, if I could.

I begin to dive desperately in to the world of Naruto. I read every chapter, watched every episode, and found that Kishimoto wrote a lot of crap, and the only thing I cared about is like... 80 episodes later.

At that time I decided that I am going. I am going to the Universe of Naruto and find him, then kill him.

------------------------------------------------------

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I woke up finding my self among piles of garbage. I sat up looked around, and saw that it's raining.

It's around dawn, or twilight. Whichever, and I am surrounded by empty, old, buildings and garbage.

How do I know its garbage? Because it stinks.

And how do I know it's not 2009 anymore? Because with all the corporations, there is no way a place like this would be left deserted.

And how do I know I'm in Naruto?

Because Pain in staring right at me, around a few meters away from me.

I screamed.

"AHHHHH~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

Not because I'm scared of Pain, but it's just this is too sudden, and yeah, I am scared of Pain.

He didn't do anything. He just stood there, in his dirty little shirt and pants, staring at me.

Wait, shirt and pants?

I stopped screaming and took a close look at him.

He looks no bigger than nine or ten!

The scream turned in to laughter. "Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha~~~"

"...." He still stared at me.

"I'm here!" I yelled, "I'm HERE!!!!!"

He still looked at me like I'm crazy.

Perhaps I am... I don't care anymore. I don't care. Because I am at a time where Naruto didn't even born--or did he? I don't care. I don't care about anything at all. I just sat there, laughs, screams, and then I cried.

I cried as hard as I could, bitterly.

I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, next time I see him I am going to kill him and tell him what a jerk he is and I am going to...

Something was in my hand. It's rubbing against my palm and it hurts.

I opened my hand, and saw a small, green leaf charm. It's glowing.

"Hi…" I said nervously to Pain.

He raised an eyebrow, and I found out that he looks actually really cute without all the piercing stabbing in to him.

"I'm Chiro. How are you?" I asked politely and extended my hand out to him.

He turned around and walked away from me.

"…" At that moment I knew that I cannot let him away from my sight. First, he is the only real connection I have to Itachi. (5 years earlier but whatever) Second, if I don't cling to him, I might not even survive. And I don't want to make enemies with one of the strongest Shinobi in the world. That would be a bad idea.

"Wait!" I yelled, struggled to get up but I found my legs are numb.

He kept on going.

"You… Stop!" I yelled. "Stop it! Do not move! I…I was looking for you!"

Pain turned around and said in his childish voice, "What?"

"I… I'm one of your relatives!" I yelled.

Do not ask me how it got in to my head; it was entirely out of my control.

"…" He turned around and walked away.

"I'm your mother!" I screamed to him.

He stopped.

"'s sister's cousin… a couple of times removed." I added.

This time he didn't even stop. He walked deeper in to the slums.

I stared after him, and suddenly felt so sad. His little body was walking away from me in to the rain; his steps are slow and weak. He clearly hasn't eaten properly for months. But he still held his head up high and walked in to the rain with little dignity he had left.

One day he is going to get it back – all his pride and dignity.

I stood up and ran towards him. He stiffed and did not move an inch. I got in front of him and said, "I'll protect you!"

He sneered and walked past me.

"…" And I followed him.

The more I followed him the more I felt how sad he is, and the more I wanted to protect him as much as I could. I don't know how that is possible considering my abilities are practically none.

"Why are you following me?" He asked, turning around and faces me.

I stopped and said, "Because I looked for you for a long time and now I'm not going to let you go."

"…Why?" He asked.

"Because I knew you when you were just a baby…" I said in a confident way.

"Why does it matter?" He frowns, "I am no use to you, and I am only a child with no special abilities."

"You are unique in your own way." I said in a really angry voice, repeating things that have been told to every person on our planet all through out their life.

"… Whatever." He said, and then turned around.

"From this day on, I will stick to you and protect you. I will care for you and find your lost childhood and—" I said, but was interrupted by a voice inside a pile of garbage.

"Nagato, you're back?" This belongs to a soft and girlish voice. I gasped, not because of the sight of the girl, but the joy of seeing Konan, one of the greatest female ninjas alive. (of course around 5 years later)

Not that I shouldn't gasp, because the sight of her is hideous. I had this idea that all girls should be made from sugar and spice and everything nice, and I have never seen any girl who is this filthy and sad. This urge to wail in front of them swallowed me whole, but then Nagato ignored me and walked in to the garbage piled little tent.

I was soaking wet, but it didn't matter because it's pretty warm in this village. I still would like to be in a shelter before sundown, because there might be ninjas patrolling the street. And I do not have identification, so therefore I will be mistaken for a trespasser, since nobody would believe that I fell right out of the sky…

"Nagato, who is she?" Konan asked him.

"My aunt." Nagato said coldly.

"Bawahahahahahahahahaha~~" Another sound came from the garbage tent. It turned out to be a small boy, with orange hair.

I was immediately reminded of Naruto, but I knew that he can't be here right now. Naruto is in a safe village where there is protection.

"I don't believe you have an aunt!" Yahiko laughed so hard, "She looks nothing like you!"

I want to tell him that he looks like the biggest idiot in the world of Naruto, but then I refined myself from saying rude things like that to children. I am an adult and I will take on the responsibilities of being an adult even though I can barely be called an adult. Still. I am older than these kids. So I cleared my throat and said clearly, "I will protect all of you now."

"…" They stared at me for a few seconds and turned around, kept on doing whatever they were doing before. Konan was cleaning out a small fish, Nagato made the bed (after staring at it intently I figured out that it was a bed) and Yahiko was circling around me and asking me if I have food. Because he looks like that he would kill me if I don't have anything to eat.

"Gather around!" I yelled, "I have gifts for all of you!"

Immediately they all gathered around.

What superficial kids…

"This is a first time meeting gift. For Konan, this comb…" I pulled the small jaded comb decorated with tiny water color like roses imprinted on the surface. I cringed a bit because this cost me a total of $34.99 back in the days when I was on earth.

I saw her face glowed under the dim sunlight, her hair failed to cover her joy of receiving a gift, and she held it against her cheat for a long time after that.

Yahiko looked as if to tell her not to take it, but then he saw her joy too, so he didn't say anything.

"And for you…" I said to Yahiko, "a small pocket knife, to defend yourself, and your friends…"

I reached in to my pocket and fervently hoped that the small knife I put in the day before to warn off any muggers is still in my pocket. And to my surprise, it still is. It is a gift from my father, since he believed the best gift to give a girl my age is either pepper spray or pocket knife. I chose the pocket knife, because I could peel apples with it. It's quite elegant and enduring, actually. The surface is decorated with a couple pieces of amethyst, and swirling shapes embedded on to the actual metal surface.

"Use it wisely." I said importantly to Yahiko. He looks as if he received a million bucks. Actually I have no idea what to say in a situation like this, and that is exactly what my father said to me when he handed me the pocket knife. Except I didn't care about that as much, and Yahiko looks like he has burnt my words on the surface of his heart.

Nagato looked at me, expecting. I begin to feel bad. Because boys his age always wanted weapons for gifts, and believe it or not, on Earth it is not a habit of most people to carry a weapon with them all the time.

"Here." I took out my piercing from my ear. I only have one piercing on my left ear. And thank god I decided to wear the ruby earring the day before. Because it matches his hair and I am convinced it will look good on him.

His disappointment could not be described in words. I wanted to smack him, but I controlled my self and said, "Do you know why I'm giving this to you?"

"No." He said truthfully.

"It is to remind you, all the blood that has shed for you. To remind you to be strong and keep on living no matter what happens…" I said, sweat dropping, and making up things on the top of my head, "And do you know what ruby stands for?"

He looked respectfully at it and said, "No."

"Courage." I said, "It stands for courage."

Nagato's eyes glowed for a moment, but he quickly hides it.

By now the other two are staring at us, and all three of them have admiration in their eyes. I feel quite proud of myself, and said. "Ok. Promise me to use them wisely…"

They immediately went back to what they were doing before.

I snickered to my self. Even though they are Atatsuki, they are still children. And all children could be easily satisfied, but none of them could be lied to.

And my life at the Amegakure begins.

---

I soon learned the harsh realities of Amegakure.

The War of Amegakure broke out a couple of years ago, and now a new leader has emerged from the rest, Hanzo.

To say Hanzo is ugly is an understatement. To say he is low and pathetic is another understatement. He is the second cruellest person I have ever met in my entire life.

Unfortunately Uchiha remains at number one.

That is not the point. Because the second day I have start to live with the trio, Hanzo somehow has got the news a trespasser has successfully trespassed his village without being noticed, and thus has to be dealt with.

I suspect the three little brats knew about Hanzo coming for me, it's not necessarily any one of them who has betrayed me, but the fact that they knew I was going to die and still didn't react at all is what ticks me off.

The first night of sleep was exhausting. I was used to mattresses and isn't used to hard floor, with only my jacket as a blanket. And at the break of dawn, I heard a yelling came from outside of the garbage tent.

I was still half asleep when Yahiko pushes me out of the garbage tent as subtly as he could manage, and I was face to face with two shinobis.

"What?"

Before I could even be fully awake, they grabbed me by my arm and dragged me towards the center of Amegakure.

And so I was facing Hanzo.

"How?" He asked.

"Huh?" I was totally confused and didn't understand the situation at all.

"How did you trespass my village under my nose?" He yelled at me.

I whimpered and said, "I… I… I'm really sorry… I dunno…"

He looks like he was going to eat me alive.

Any other time I might find his huge head somehow funny, but then right now I would give anything to have the ability to smash his head in two.

"How?" He gritted his teeth and repeated.

I blinked and said, "I really don't know…"

"If you don't tell me," He said, "I will kill you."

"I know." I said stupidly, "but you see, when I got to your honourable village, which I think is the greatest village in the world by the way, I lost all my memories and…"

By this time I squeezed out all the water left in me through my eyes, which is a bad idea because I will be badly dehydrated later.

He laughed really hard, as if he doesn't believe me at all. Who can blame him? It's not like that I have a good excuse to trespass in his country.

"I really am innocent. I have no powers of any kind and I am not a ninja, there is no other place left for me to live… please take me in to your lovely country…" I sobbed in heart breaking way.

He looked at me for a long time and said, "Well…"

---

And that is where it got me to my position now. I am locked in a cell down in the dungeon (I'm not sure that it is a dungeon. It looks like one. Maybe Hanzo tortures people in this dungeon for his own please, that sick basterd. ) I am pretty sure they have used the art of hypnotism on me, because I passed out and woke up in a dungeon.

I first screamed as hard as I could, asking to be let out. But then I knew it is no use. When ninja in a black mask came up to me and said in a really menacing way, "If you don't confess, you'll be stuck in this death jail for the rest of your life!"

I was horrified. What is a death jail exactly? It is a jail, which criminals go in to until they die. There is hardly any chance that I will be ever let out. So I sat there and starting cursing Hanzo. From his ancestors to himself, from his dog to his socks…

And from that moment on I developed an undying hatred for Hanzo and swore to kill him sometimes. I think I was stuck in there for a day and a night when I heard a scream came from above.

I ran to the bars and tried to understand what's going on, but it was completely dark, and then I saw a pair of bright light, coming right at me.

"Auntie!" a childish voice yelled at me.

Any other day I would be hopping mad, but right now I am so grateful, because it's Nagato, Nagato came for me! I won't have to endure the sound of rats and the smell of shit in this death jail anymore!

But then a torch was lit, and I saw Hanzo and his ugly huge head behind Nagato.

"He told me you're his aunt." Hanzo said, still suspicious.

"…" I stared at Nagato, he was staring at me with his wide eyes, "Yes." I said, "Yes I am."

"Why didn't you say something before?" Hanzo asked, and I figured when he talks, his whole head gear must tremble too.

"Because Nagato doesn't think of me as his aunt, you see, he thinks I abandoned him when I actually didn't …"

"Did you?" Hanzo asked.

"No!" I gasped, "After the war, I was trying desperately to find him, but I could not because I have no money and I am not a ninja…"

This is the time I squeezed out all that water that was left from my body through my eyes. "Nagato!" I gasped and grabbed his small fists through the bar. "Please let me get out of here… I have to take care of my nephew…"

Hanzo looked at us for a long time. It's mostly me that was crying and Nagato stood there looking stubborn.

"Fine." He said finally, "You are now a citizen of Amegakure."

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" I said, and got all teary eyed. But later on I learned that Hanzo had an aunt that dies for him when he was young. So maybe that is why he was so kind hearted. Although I think he regrets it later when I steal food from his tray constantly to feed the three little black holes at home.

"As a citizen of Amegakure, you must contribute to our society, so starting today; you will work as one of the town hall janitor…"

I stared at him as he rambles on and on, and is horrified because in truth I have never worked for a day in my life. The most I did is to wash the dishes, no, only one dish. And that was my own dish.

I hate you. I said in my heart.

Nagato squeezed my hand back and looked at me in an expectant way. I suppose from now on I'll have to support three little brats now…

---

When we got back to the 'home', it's already dawn. Konan and Yahiko were waiting for us outside.

"We're back!" I said happily.

They both ran towards us, past me and to Nagato, asking if he was alright, and I was left alone behind them.

I figured the day Orachimaru suggests to kill them, I'll raise my hand in complete agreement.

The home they were living in consists of several sheets and a pole. The space is tiny and could barely fit three children. It was covered in junk in disguise, and it smells horrible.

I thought the first thing I would do is to get them a home.

"What are your names?" I asked the Konan and Yahiko.

"I'm Konan." She muttered softly.

"I'm Yahiko." The orange haired boy said.

I extended my hand out to them and smiled, "I'm Chiro. It's nice to meet you all…"

Of course they didn't shake it. Yahiko ran in to the forest to hunt for food, and Konan was preparing another tiny fish, Nagato said to me, "Make your self useful."

---

I have been here for almost a month and I felt like I could just lie down and die any moment now. Why do I think like this?

Let me give the dearest reader a typical day of me living in Amegakure.

I wake up at 5:33. Because there is no candles here and I go to sleep at around seven or eight. How was I woken up? Nagato was responsible for knocking my head with the washboard. Which is clearly family abuse, I should sue.

Of course there isn't any breakfast. So what do I do? I go to work on an empty stomach, and hope that Hanzo isn't particularly hungry that day, so I might scrape some leftovers. And I cannot eat it all. I tried to steal as much food as I could without Hanzo noticing. He has a huge appetite and loves to give out feasts to important people from other countries. At time like that I try to steal some food that is easy to preserve in this moist and warm environment. Then I will hide it on the way home. Because on the first couple of days I made a mistake of holding them in my arms and I was robbed, the three brats have nothing to eat; therefore I cried myself to sleep and endured their looks with the little dignity I had left. It is clearly I am not adapted in this environment.

In the mornings I am supposed to mop up the entire front hallway. Amegakure rains all the time, therefore everywhere anybody go will be muddy. And they don't even care about making the marble floor dirty, since I am going to mop it up around eight or nine times a day anyway. Between those times, I should clean out the stair handles, dust the vases and paintings, and basically keep the front hall clean. Around noon I will go to the kitchen and present the food trays to the dining room. I have to do it because I am the only one, other than Hanzo himself, is presentable to people in other countries. I am not thin to the point people could see my ribs and my bones on my finger. I have a feeling, a few more month of this, I will be. Also I don't have a deathly look in my eyes, the look that says to kill Hanzo. I do not hate him that much, since I have never experienced real hate. My number one enemy remains to be that damn Uchiha.

Around five or six in the afternoon I was allowed to go home. I ran home as fast as I could because I hate being in the streets alone. It looks like the set of 'I am Legend.' Except Will Smith is nowhere in sight, and there is no super cool racing cars. The citizens of Amegakure stared out at people who walk out on the streets in broad daylight (no day light. Cloudy rain all the time) behind the ruins, and wondering if the pedestrians have any food they can take away by force. I have seen women holding out their baby to strangers, begging for food, and that disturbed me so much that Nagato was actually worried.

"What is the matter with you?"

I told him what I saw.

He said, "Oh, so?"

I stared at him.

"It's common here."

"But… you're only a child…"

"There are no children in Amegakure." He said sadly.

I was confused, "What? But you are…"

"There are no _children_ in Amegakure." He said, more determined this time.

After I got home, I watched and rested while the children practically inhaled all the food, and that is the time where I make a vow to bring more tomorrow. Bring more table cloth, more bread and buns, more rice and dried fish, more drumsticks…

Then it's time for bath. Nagato and Yahiko think I am insane to take a bath every single day. But in a village where there is no shampoo or conditioner or soap, a steaming bath is all I had left to enjoy my day. If that is taken away from me, I will kill something. Konan watched afar the first couple of days when I'm off to the hot spring (it's in a cave so there is no rain) then finally I persuaded her to come with me.

"All girls are supposed to be pretty and clean. Wash yourself every day, take care of yourself. Get in to this habit…" I said continuously as I scrubbed her hair, which was coated in dirt for about several months. I try the best I could, and finally after I week I see clean hair. Then I realized the feeling of been a mother.

"Is it true that you're Nagato's aunt?" She asked me one day.

I felt that Konan has opened up to me. She kind of follows me around when Nagato and Yahiko are busy, and sometimes she even talks to me.

"Of course!" I said confidently.

"…"

After a long time she said, "May I call you auntie too?"

I first stared at her, and then I hugged her as tight as I could.

"Of course you may! Of course you may!" I yelled.

I got Konan and Nagato in to a habit of using correct manners and languages. Although Yahiko doesn't bother.

"What's the use of that crap when I'm going to die soon?" He asked me.

I don't know how to answer him, because, whether he knows it or not, he _is_ going to die soon.

And so Konan started calling me auntie.

Every time she does, I think about how, in the future, when Nagato forms Atatsuki, every single member has to call me 'auntie', even Kisame and Uchiha, Deidera and Sasori… Oh my. Thinking of that makes me feel so happy. I'd be like the elder of all Atatsukis.

Then I thought about by the time that happens, I will be old. At least five years older than Uchiha. Which sucks.

"Why is she happy and angry at the same time?" Nagato asked Yahiko.

To which Yahiko replied, "She is insane. It's not like that's news to you."

"Hey! I'm your auntie!" I yelled, and smacked his head.

He replied in a dull way. "Yes, auntie."

After the bath it's time for bed. I couldn't shake away this uncomfortable feeling that our neighbour, the man whose tent and poles are stacked in the garbage pile next to us is staring at me and Konan every time we get back home. I don't want to think about it anymore.

Then it's bed time stories.

I begin. "Once upon a time, there is a beautiful princess lives in a beautiful castle…"

"This story sucks." Yahiko said, "There is no way that kind of stuff exists…"

I smacked his head and continued, "She has all the nice things in the world. Beautiful jewellery, beautiful room and clothing, and delicious food…"

"This isn't interesting at all. Who cares about a princess?" Nagato said calmly.

Only Konan remains to be my faithful listener.

"But she wasn't happy." I finally finished a sentence, and I glared at the two boys.

"How come she isn't happy when she lives in such a wonderful fake, place? She's not living in Amegakure, her parents aren't killed in the war, why isn't she satisfied?"

"Because she's lonely. Now…"

"But being well fed and clothed, why is she still sad and lonely?"

"Because no one was there to be with her."

"Was she all alone locked in a room?"

"No, there are servents and guards…Now…"

"Then why is she lonely? She has people to talk to—"

"Do you STILL want to hear this story or not?" I yelled.

They quickly cuddled together and looked at me with Bambi eyes.

"Lonely – as in she need love and…"

"Why…"

I snapped. "Ok, you know what? Let's change a story. Once upon a time there is a ninja called Harry Potter."

"What?"

"Harry Potter's parents were killed by a nine tailed beast called Voldemort." I said, looked around to see if there is any interruptions.

None. Lovely.

"Harry Potter went to live with his aun – I mean, his cousins." I reacted quickly and changed that part. Because I don't want them to have this idea that all aunts and uncles are mean.

"They treat him horribly…" I continued on with the story.

…

When I got to the part where Harry was making friends with Ron and Hermione, the three little brats are still wide awake.

"…Are you ever going to fall asleep?" I yawned.

"My favourite part is where Harry's parents died saving him." Nagato said.

"Mine is when he was abused…" Yahiko said.

Konan whispered softly, "I like the princess story…"

"I'll tell it to you alone tomorrow at bath." I said, and fell asleep in one second flat.

---

If I have known this would happen, I would never get up and go to work this morning. But nevertheless, I did get up and I did go to work, and this happened.

As I said the close to the only food source that we have is practically the food I steal from Hanzo. Because Hanzo doesn't bother with minor details like this since the tension between countries are extremely intense, he was deriving battle plans in his office room. But I suppose I have nicked too much food.

When I was carrying the food tray to his office room, I put three pieces of rice balls and some dangos in my lunch pocket. Then I thought about how I made myself promise to steal more food yesterday, therefore I secretly took one out of half a dozen bread and fish sandwiches. One of those could feed the three of them for 2 days. But I hide them in my pocket so I don't look too suspicious. If people looked at me closely, then they will find a slight bulge on my stomach. I will tell them because I have edema. The pressure in my lymphatic system exceeds what i take in, therefore excess tissue fluid builds up in my stomach. It's what African children have when they starve for a long period of time. I hope that people won't notice my chubby arms and faces (compared to the people here, I am like a cow. Yes I admit that. ) when I tell them I have edema.

Although I think my actions has been monitored for a long time, because I saw a head staring at me, and then it disappeared.

And my suspicion was confirmed when I went in to the office room, Hanzo looked at the lunch tray and said coldly, "Is it my imagination or is it that my lunch was getting smaller and smaller everyday?"

I said, quite earnestly, "It's your imagination."

Hanzo got so mad, He flipped the table and paper fluttered everywhere, and the lunch tray was smashed to the ground.

I burst in to tears.

Oh, Why why why must he do this? That lunch tray could feed us for two weeks and he flipped it on to the ground like nothing. Didn't he know that wasting food is a sin? Oh the poor wheat growers, the poor meat farmers and the poor chef who works at the kitchen gives me a cookie or two everyday I walks in…

Oh, Hanzo is an enemy of the people…

I wailed as loud as I could, mourning for the precious food that was covered with dirt.

And from now on I lost the long term food ticket.

And that's not all.

By the time that food was cleaned up, Hanzo yelled to me, "Stop crying!"

I continued on crying.

"I'm going to kill you!"

Oh, who the hell cares about you? I care about the wasted glucose and nutrients.

"Alright! You're fired!" he yelled.

"I am?" I stopped crying and look up at him.

"Yes! Get out from my sight!" He yelled.

I stood there, and then snapped back to reality.

"Thank you thank you thank you!!!"

And with that I swung around, ran as fast as I could, and slammed the door shut behind me.

Because I spotted something interesting – the map of the world is on his table, and according to that map, Konoha is sending her teams here… very soon.

"So… You lost your job." Yahiko said coldly, while munching on the sandwich.

"Uh huh. I hummed while hanging up his laundry. He only has 2 set of clothing. But I think, when I have enough money earned to buy food, I'll buy them clothing.

"Yeah, I got my salary too." I said, "Too bad I can't spend it."

"Why can't you?" Konan asked.

"There isn't any market around here." I said.

They all stared at me for a long time, then Nagato said, "So… You think that this is all there is to it in Amegakure?"

"Yeah." I said, "What else is there?"

Silence…

"Let me draw you a map of Amagakure." Nagato said. "It is split in to East and West parts. The East part is made from rich people. People who has too much money and has nowhere to spend. Basically, idiots. And then there is the West. It's made from people like us. Destitute, people who lives in slums…"

… Back in the good ol' days I still count as a rich girl. Now I am a destitute. I live in slums with three little brats who are stronger than I am in combat (don't say I didn't try, because I did, and that is another story) and thinks I am utterly useless.

"Oh, let's go there and buy something then." I said, and took out my salary.

Yahiko took a good look at it and said, "In our currency, this amount could get you… an apple."

"……." I stuttered, "An a… apple?"

"Ah.. Maybe a candied apple." Konan said softly.

"You mean an apple made from gold and encrusted with silver leaves and…"

"No, just an apple." Nagato said quietly.

I felt like crying. There is no way I am going back there and yell at Hanzo to give me a pay raise. Especially after I quit that place by slamming the door shut.

"Let's go to the market and see what we can get." I said, calculating how we should divide an apple in to the food that must last for the rest of the week.

The three of us walked to the market.

"That's the fish stall, that's the rice stall, that's the fruit stall…"

"I'm not blind, Yahiko." I said.

"Anyway, the three of us are going to look around, you can look around too. I heard it's exhausting shopping with a women." Yahiko said.

"You think I'm a woman?" I asked him incredulously.

"Oh, I'm sorry – I heard it's exhausting shopping with a hag."

"…" By the time I want to smack his head, he already left, along with the other two.

And I realize, they have the ability to slither around in crowed places, like Eyeshield in 'Eyeshield 21'.

In truth, I have never been to a market. I have been to what they call a super market. I used to think that a market is a filthy place, and I was quite right.

Because of the mud, everything is muddy. The rain has stopped for once, but the day was still dark and weak. I strolled to a fish market and asked, "How much is one fish?"

The man stared at me and said, "One fish?"

"Yeah."

The man said something I didn't understand. I only understood the number, but not the units behind it. After thinking about it, a fish must cost way more than an apple, so I pulled out my salary and said, " Is this enough?"

The man's eyes sparkled, then quickly snatched the money, and handed me a fish wrapped in a plastic bag, and shooed me out of his stall.

I stood there in the middle of the market and feeling pretty proud of my self.

Around 15 minutes later Yahiko came and found me, "Finally! There you are! I thought you died some place…"

I held up my bag and said, "Look! Look at what I bought!"

"Cool. Now where is the rest of the money?" He asked.

"Rest?" I was dumb founded.

"Don't tell me you used all the money you had!" Nagato popped up and feel looked surprised.

"Why?" I asked, "I thought it's a pretty good deal…"

"Chiro." Konan said to me softly, "Because of the weather here in Amagakure, apples are extremely rare and precious. So an apple is probably worth around 50 pounds of fish…"

Despite my age and maturity, I wailed as loud as I could right in the middle of Amegakure market.

---

"What are you waiting for?" Yahiko asked me.

"What?" I looked around.

"You were always looking for something." Nagato observed, "You seem really restless nowadays."

"That's because a war is coming." I said.

"Huh?" Konan asked, looking up from her origami.

"I can sense these things. Amegakure is going to be engaged in a battle soon." I said.

"Maybe that'll bring some life to this dull place." Yahiko said.

"You want to change Amegakure, right?" I asked, "You need to find a good teacher…"

"There is nobody here that wants to teach me."

"Maybe someone from other countries will. They will want to teach you no matter which country you are from, and all three of you will be very very strong." I said knowingly. Knowing the future sure comes in handy sometimes, although I can't see the future of myself. Probably one day I am going back. I don't belong here anyways.

"Konan, are you cold?" Yahiko asked her, she was sitting beside us, with stacks of old newspaper, and folding paper cranes.

I am proud to say that I taught her how to fold them, and I also told her that a thousand means one wish. So she sat on the stool and folds paper cranes whenever she has time.

"No." She replied simply. It was a sunny and nice day, probably one of the first ever since I came to Amegakure. I miss Earth.

The boys and I were lying under the sun and looking up at the clouds. Many clouds floats by and they form all kinds of shapes.

"Do you like wasting time like this?" Nagato asked.

"Looking at clouds relaxes you. And you need that. You will grow old before your time comes." I said.

"Do you like clouds?" Yahiko asked.

"I do! I do! I love them!!" I yelled suddenly.

They all stared at me.

"Just remember that I love clouds, especially red ones with white edges." I said to them word for word.

"…You're weird." Nagato said.

"Oh, and I love long black clocks too." I said. "They are very cool and mysterious."

"What is she talking about this time?"

"I don't know. Maybe she is crazy…"

"I thought we already confirmed the fact that she is crazy…"

"Why did I get stuck with a crazy aunt?"

…

---

It's not looking good. Our food supply was running out fast, and Konan got sick.

She came home one day coughing, and so I put her on the bed (sheets) and told her not to move. She needs all the energy she could for her helper T cells to kill off any viruses. Or else her third line of defence immune system doesn't work as well if she doesn't rest…

Anyway she fell asleep as fast as she could.

I dried some towel and put it on her forehead, covered her with sheets and proceeded outside for the continuous lesson with the boys.

Teaching them is really hard. Because they think education is a waste of time. (I think so too, but let's not set a bad example for the kids here) Therefore learning useless things like math and language is a waste of time. What interests them is Biology and Physics. For example, they can calculate the amount of time and the length of string they need to across the other side of the cliff and steal berries from a farm. What will the tension on the bridge be when all three of them steps on it, and will it hold all three of them. And they are interested what to eat to be strong so they will decrease the chance of being hungry.

Those are really useful information to survive out here. I bet I know more than Uchiha on areas of Chemistry and Calculus, and you have no idea how proud that makes me.

Things are getting rough too. Hanzo came more than one time to the West side for boys or men who could still move, and forces them to the training camp where they train to be ruthless war machines. It is there I lied to him that the boys are actually nine years old. And they glared at me all weeks after that.

"Is there a war coming up?" I asked Hanzo.

He merely looked at me and walked away.

It is only a couple of days after I realized that Konan is getting worse.

She doesn't cough anymore. Instead she has a fever, and her fingers are so cold when her face is incredibly hot and burning. She used to sit there and folds origami, but then she doesn't have the energy to even lift her fingers. We give the last of our food supply to her and feed her bit by bit, watching as she mutters gibberish, and begin to do recognize us anymore. Although she asks for my presence, I stayed with her all the time and try to make her feel better.

But the third day after she got sick, I realized something.

It was subtle, but there is was – small red dots are appearing on her body.

I wanted to cry. What is this? Small pox? Chicken pox? Cow pox? Why are there so many poxes and how could I know what it is and treat it? All I know is to take Tylenol, but there isn't any here! And what the hell was Tylenol made out of anyway?

I'm not afraid; I had vaccine when I was little. Because our wonderful federal government has paid for it, and I doubt Hanzo will pay for this.

"Konan has a very series disease. None of you can get close to her. Wear the masks all the time, do you here me? If one of you gets close to her, she will affect you and that will make her feel very bad. And please do not cause me any trouble, do as I say or I'll whip you with garbage bags." I said to them solemnly.

They didn't really pay attention to the last part, but their faces were filled with worry and fear for their friend, and I promised I will do everything I could for her.

"Aren't you afraid that you will get it too?" Nagato asked me.

"I'm not afraid of it." I said carelessly, thinking that if I had to explain the concept of vaccines to him, it would take hours.

And who knew one day that sentence will save me my life.

I told the boys to get water from the stream, boil it, and also get water from the hot spring, and try to find any source of soft food that Konan could eat.

But it's not working.

She gets sicker and sicker every single day.

On the fourth day she isn't burning up, but her whole body temperature drops and she was shivering, I held her in my arms and for the first time since I came here, I cried with all my heart.

She was asking for Nagato and Yahiko.

"Why aren't they here? Are they ok? What happened to them? Why won't they see me?"

He little lips were quivering and her hand was shaking. I cried and told her that they are all fine. They are trying as hard as they could to make her better, and all she has to do is to lie down and rest.

I know that Konan is going to survive this, but what scares me is that I came here and disturbed all the sequences, therefore the future is a blur, and I don't know if I am able to overcome this obstacle.

On the fifth day Konan completely lost her conscious. She doesn't recognize us anymore. She would ask for her mom and dad, and scream every time we tried to approach her. They boys were equally worried, but they don't know what to do anymore. They never cry in front of my face, but once Yahiko shook me so hard, making me promise that she will live, and I cried and told him that she will. She is an angel. She is the purest out of all of us and she will live through this.

Yahiko dropped his hand and slipped on to the muddy ground, the rain swallowed us whole, and he didn't get up for a long time.

Finally I decided that this cannot go on.

"I'm going to the East side for medicine." I said to the boys, "I will be back. Take care of her."

"I'll go with you." Yahiko said.

"No, I will. Yahiko, stay with Konan." Nagato said, and his eyes shone a little from underneath his bangs.

The path to the East side took a long time. I was walking very fast and thinking of strategies to steal medicine. So far I have came up with act and cry and beg them for it.

Nagato didn't say anything when we were walking. The rain fell continuously. I walked toward him and straightened his rain coat, (made from garbage bags by me) and patted his head softly.

I hoped that Hanzo is in a good mood this morning, or at least, in a giving mood, because other than luck, I don't see any other thing that's on my side, and luck is slowly leaving me ever since I came here.

From the distance I could see the building. It stood alone among all the brick and straw made houses. The room is bright red, made from materials that I suspect is blood, but it's not washing off from the roof, and its light reflected in the rain drops, shining in my eyes.

The guards are standing at the front and they stiffened when they saw me walking towards them.

"I have important information concerning the invasion of Amegakure that I have to inform Hanzo immediately." I said loudly.

They looked at each other.

"I am 100% loyal to Amegakure!" I promised.

Nagato didn't say anything behind me.

"If Amegakure was attacked, you two are to blame." I said.

"Let her in!" A voice roared from the inside.

I shivered, and the two guards stood aside, letting me and Nagato in.

I walked inside steadily, and found my self shivering. Nagato stood by me and squeezed my hand lightly.

"I have a deal to make with you." I said.

He sat at the top of the steps, looking down at me in a cold and pathetic way. I breathed in and out, thinking if I were to drop an atomic bomb, then this whole universe would be extinguished, therefore the nine tailed beasts were nothing but a small insignificant source of power anyway. But thank god Nagato doesn't know what an atomic bomb is. And I am not going to tell him anytime in my life.

"I know which ninjas Konoha is sending to Amegakure." I said.

He rose from his steps and I quickly said, "You will not ask me how I know. But all my words are the truth."

Hanzo did not say anything, but eyes me suspiciously.

"I want supplies." I said, "Supplies that will last for one week -- or two weeks, at the most."

"Supplies as in--"

"Food and medicine, I want to go and chose them myself."

Hanzo raised an eyebrow. But he said, "Tell me first."

"Jiraiya, Orachimaru and Tsunade." I said.

He made a noise that sounds like somewhere between a _pffft_ and a _pfffui._

"It time that you keep the end of your deal." I said, dignified.

He raised an arm, and waved. Immediately I was swept off my feet and landed a couple of meters away.

"Get out." He said coldly.

I bit my lips and said," you promised me food and supplies."

"I did not promise you anything." He said.

I felt Nagato stiffen beside me.

"But --" I tried to argue, but Hanzo spoke.

"I know why you are here. For that pathetic little girl you were living with. She has chicken pox, does she not? If you do not leave immediately, I will send people to kill her, just as well, so the disease does not spread to others."

I bit my lips so hard that I suspect I tasted my own blood. Nagato didn't say anything. He stood in front of me quietly and did not move.

"I'm a busy man." He said, "You have three seconds to get out of this place right now."

I didn't move. Instead I shove Nagato behind me and said, " I want the medicine, I --"

I couldn't see what was happening. Because Hanzo got in front of me and grabbed my collar, and slam me against the other side of the hall.

I didn't make a sound. The pain in my head is killing me alive. I wish, at that moment, that he could just chop my head off, be done with it and then my head wouldn't hurt as much once it is cut off from my neck.

"Chiro!" Nagato ran towards me, and helped me to stand up. I held my head, and discovered that it is bleeding. Perhaps I have a minor concussion.

"Let's go back, Chiro, let's go back." Nagato whispered to me, "It's no use, he will kill us if we stay here, It's ok to be brave, but it isn't ok to be stupid, that's what you told us, isn't it?"

I controlled myself not to cry, I stood up slowly, and looked at Hanzo coldly, and slowly stepped towards the exit.

"On second thought--" Hanzo said, "I will give it to you, because we have an abundant supply of it and I don't need it as much, consider no one had chicken pox yet, but if you want it, keel down and beg me for it."

What the hell is with him and his sick attitudes?

I couldn't believe my ears; Nagato gripped my hand tightly and stiffened his upper lips. I shook away from him and stepped closer to Hanzo.

It took all my will power, all my control not to scream and not to cry. The whole world seems to be in a blur and I forced myself not to blink or cry. This is the most humiliating thing that has ever happened to me. And I am only a teenager, this kind of stuff happens to characters, not readers.

"Well?" He asked, a sneer appeared on the side of his lips.

It is at that moment I decided, as soon as Jiraiya that idiot gets here, I am leaving for Konoha, As soon as I get to Konoha, I'll go straight to the Third or the Fourth (is he is still alive) and beg him to adopt me, to teach me.

I felt stiff, and cold. The whole world is leaving my mind. I slowly knelt down, and felt my knees touch the ground.

"And?" He asked impatiently.

I opened my mouth and nothing came out. I tried to speak but I found my throat croaked like a frog.

"Please." I whispered.

"I didn't hear you." he said, annoyed than ever.

"P..Please." I said, louder this time.

"Louder!" he roared.

"PLEASE!" I screamed at him.

Silence.

He looked at me in a pathetic way, as if I am beneath him, and then he throws me a bag that was handed to him by a man in a medical squad uniform.

The bag of pills slammed against my face, and the string was loosened, causing the pills to fall out of the bag.

I didn't move. Hanzo laughed loudly, walking past me, crushing a couple of pills as I tried to gather them all up in that bag.

What does pride mean? Pride means nothing at a time like this. Pride means nothing when you are facing something or someone important to you. Pride is only a stone in the road that you have to get rid of. It is meaningless and useless at a time like this, as I discovered.

"Chiro, I'm sorry." Nagato said to me, and helped me up.

Years later, I remembered that I knelt there for a long time, thinking about pride, and how brave I was.

Pain remembered it too.

Good, so it is not a wasted effort then.

---

Konan is getting better.

We could clearly see the changes. Her face is getting brighter and brighter, there are reflections in her eyes, and her cheeks and lips are red and healthy.

Her origami paper crane was hanging on the side of our tent. Tiny, small origami cranes, Konan was constantly making them, and she is almost half way there.

"One day, I am going to kill Hanzo." Yahiko said to me.

I smiled and said," Oh, you don't have to worry about that. He is going to die in two weeks, at the most."

"Why?"

"Because Konoha is sending their troops here, and they are far stronger than Hanzo."

"How do you know?"

"Because they are trained by the Third Hokage, and he is a very strong Ninja."

Yahiko didn't say anything, he looked to south, where Konoha is.

"Why are they coming?"

"..."In truth, I didn't know much about the history of this world. The plot seems more important than the history at that time.

"When do we get to learn Ninjatsu?" He sounds frustrated.

"Ah, do you know what the character "nin" means?" I asked him.

"No. Does it matter?"

"Yes it does." I answered. "It means 'tolerance'"

"So?" Yahiko asked, impatient.

I sighed and looked up at the rain that was falling down. It rained the first day that I came here too. It rained when Itachi heard about Sasuke. It rained when Sasuke killed Itachi. It rained when Sasuke and Naruto fought…

It always rains when something bad or sad has happened.

I begin to wonder if I will ever get to meet the main characters. I even begin to wonder if I wanted to meet the main characters – or Itachi.

"Aunt Chiro, I want to ask you about the –" Konan came to me with a paper crane in her hand.

She didn't finish her sentence because somewhere not far away, a loud noise came, and almost knocked us all over.

Konoha is attacking Amegakure.

---

The battle last for over a week. The three kids were constantly running over there trying to see what has happened so far. Since I know for a fact that they are not going to get involved, I didn't stop them. But I told them all very clearly to stay away from the ninjas. Stay away from the battle, stay away from anything that poses as a potential danger to them.

At last, one day when I was humming a song and washing laundry by hand, I saw a huge fro popping out on the other side of the horizon, along with a slug and a snake, I knew it is time. The time has come for Hanzo to die and for Konoha to win. Although I thought it is really funny how Konoha attacked Amegakure and left its civilians in ruins and pieces, but not that it's any of my business. Politics is a funny thing.

It's not around a week after when we were strutting along the rain, looking for food, we found three figures dimly walking away from us.

"Catch them!" I yelled, and immediately was sure that they are the three Sannins. I mean, for now. Who knows, one day Team 7 might over come them.

"Please, do you have any food…?"

I watched as they act all pathetic and pitiful, I tried not to laugh. It is true that we are starving, but the children's art of deception is clearly achieving the highest level.

"We should kill them, letting them live would cause more pain and suffering…"

"I'll stay behind and take care of them; you and Tsunade go on ahead…"

I continued to watch the famous scene unfold in front of me. This marks the beginning of the path to Pain. Poor Jiraiya, he dies in Nagato's hands, despite how everything else turns out, he is making one of the biggest mistake in his life.

Not that I'm complaining. I love the children.

"I have a request." I said, taking a big breath. This is what I have rehearsed for the past two weeks for.

They all looked at me.

"Nagato, Yahiko and Konan. You three are in excellent hands now." I said, "That is why it is safe you leave you three here. I plan to go_ back_ to Konoha."

"Aunt Chiro, you were from Konoha?" Nagato asked me quietly.

"Yes, I was." I lied through my teeth.

"I don't know you." Tsunade said, frowning.

"Well, I really don't expect you to remember me, but I know you. I know all three of you very well." I said coolly. "And I know the Third personally as well."

"Really." Orachimaru narrowed his eyes at me.

It took all my control not to shiver.

"Yes." I said, "For example, Jiraiya is a pervert, Tsunade loves her boyfriend and her brother, and Orachimaru is addicted to power."

Orachimaru lung at me, but Tsunade stopped him. Jiraiya was laughing his head off.

"Very well, but you need a close examination." Tsunade said. Her eyes softened.

I smiled at her.

"Why do you need to go back there?" Jiraiya asked, "Out of curiosity."

I have prepared for that too. So I answered, "I am in debt of the Third, and I am determined to repay it."

"Why would you want to do that?" Jiraiya asked.

"…" I didn't say anything.

"You're welcome to come with us." Tsunade smiled at me kindly, "How old are you?"

"16." I said.

"What? You said you were 19!" Yahiko yelled.

"I said that so you would listen to me." I said, "It's hard being a single aunt raising three kids."

"…"all of them looked at me in a way that I feel pretty ashamed of myself.

"Alright. I'm leaving." I knelt down in front of the three of them, "Promise to be good, listen to Jiraiya, but don't listen to him all the time. Use your logic. Konan, stay away from his if he is being an idiot. I think this past 6 month has made me very happy being with the three of you. We will meet again, I promise. By then, please don't try to kill me, because you three will be very strong." I said.

They didn't say anything. Konan cried silently. I kissed her cheeks, and kissed the boys on their forehead, and said, "The next time I see you all, make sure you three are worth of being the strongest of Amegakure."

Konan nodded, Nagato nodded, Yahiko turned his head away.

"I am very sorry for not telling you about this, but one day you will forgive me. We will keep in contact by writing to each other, won't we?" I glared at Jiraiya so hard he actually fell back a step.

"Yes!" He said.

"…"

"Can we go now?" Orachimaru sounds annoyed.

"Yes!" I stood up, and let go of their hands. "I'll miss the three of you very very much."

"Wait!" Nagato suddenly ran up to me.

I looked at him, and felt so sad that I might actually cry if it's not for Orachimaru is staring at me.

"This." He opened his hand, and sitting in his palm is the red ruby, it looks like a drop of the purest, finest blood in his hands.

He put it to his ear, and pierced it through.

I gasped and tried to examine his wound, but he said to be, "Thank you, Aunt Chiro. For everything."

I cried. We both know it's a lie, but it's a well meaning lie, and he apparently accepts me as his aunt just now, whether or not we are related.

"I will be brave." He said, "I will protect all my friends, and one day, I'll go and get you from Konoha."

I cried harder.

"Then we will live in Amegakure, by that time I will be strong." He said to me quietly.

I wailed very childishly.

Years later, I still remember, how the ruby hangs on his earlobe, and how drips of blood is leaking from the wound, they mixed together, and I couldn't tell the difference which is which. The color is the same as his eyes and his hair, burning in to my memory, and I will always remember it.

The sad little figure, standing in the rain, and saying goodbye to me. He was making a promise that he will fulfill 5 years later.

And that concludes my adventure in Amegakure.

---

There are so many things lies ahead of me that I can't help but get excited, although I have no way of knowing my future, I still feel extremely lucky that I have transferred to this world.

I walked behind Tsunade, and waved goodbye to the children.

I could see their reflections on the ground; they are distinct and clear, as if burning in to my memory.

What ever happens next, I know that I will always love them as my own relatives, no matter what they turn all to be.

And that's enough for me.

End Part 1

Sry about the time differences. Critiques are welcome. Lov u all. oh, POD hurry up with the beta thing~~


	2. The most tragic thing

**A/N: believe it or not it takes a long long time to update another chapter…**

**I've got the basic outline all mapped out. If I ever decide that this story is too long and I don't want to do it anymore, I'll type out the outline for anyone who is dying to know the ending. I plan for 16 chapters in total. Every chapter must be equally long. So it's exhausting to type it out. **

**I need someone to be beta. Apparently my Beta is totally a tomboy and hates love and romance. She claims she got so bored that she never finished the first chapter. Wha~~~~~~~ **

**Also the time differences are messed up. There should be longer time elapses, but I shortened it so MC will not be that much older than the main male protagonist. I'll type up a timeline if anyone requests for it.**

**I doubt it though, since my best friend thinks this is boring and no one else seems interested…. Wha~~~~~~~~**

**Oh, and can someone please tell me if Naruto's mom is dead or not? Because on Naruto Encyclopaedia it says: unsure. Presumably dead. So I'll go with the fact that she's still alive. **

**First part of this chapter is extremely boring. Scroll down about ¾ and begin to read.**

**Part 2****：****The Most Tragic Thing **

What is the most tragic thing? What sparks it? What feeling leads to it?

Is it betrayal? Is it sadness? Is it pity?

Or is it love…?

Recently I discovered something.

I found, the more I travel with Orachimaru (6 minutes), the more he strongly reminded me of Michael Jackson.

No offense to Michael. He is a great musician and did his thing to contribute to the musical world, but the resemblance between them is uncanny.

I wonder where he got his sick attitude that he had to go and find bodies of young men.

But then is would be even more sick and creepy if he switched to females. And for the love of god I hope that does not come true, with the population of females at risk.

Tsunade is quite nice to me. She is caring and thoughtful, (at some level), and for the last 7 minutes we have traveled together, she bombarded me with questions that are either too personal, or embarrassing to answer in front of Orachimaru. Not because Orachimaru is a guy (well... sort... well... um... at least 0.02% masculine), and I am a girl. It's because that Orachimaru is a smartass and can see right through me if I tell a lie that is too big to hide.

"How old is your sister?"

I thought for a moment and said, "Excuse me, what was the question?"

Tsunade repeated the question.

"Oh. Um... She died when she was 30." I said, making up a number, hoping fervently that by some chance, Kishimoto decided, in his conscious, that Pain's mother died when she was 30.

Tsunade patted my hair, and asked, "How are you going to repay the Third?"

I want to tell her that even if I do own that old pervert something, I wouldn't repay him. Because he would probably make me take care of Konohamaru. And that kid is too spoilt. But then again, I handled the three brats at Amegkure, and then Konohamaru is a piece of cake!

I'm hungry...

"Do you have any food?" I asked her pathetically.

Orachimaru tsked.

I was too weak to glare at him, and I swallowed a small bun that Tsunade gives me.

"That's all." She said sadly.

"It's ok" I then took a good look at her.

Her bust is already very large, excuse me for saying this, but I don't think that would be very useful in ninja combat. Unless the opponent is someone like Jiraiya, or the Third.

Tsunade is actually very pretty. She has long, flowing hair and a very pretty, sexy face. I hope that one day she will get to marry Jiraiya or something, even though it is impossible.

"Is the Fourth still alive?" I asked her.

"No, he died several years ago." Tsunade said.

I sighed, and then asked, "Do you have any other food?"

---

I have been traveling with Orachimaru and Tsunade for 6 hours now, and so far Orachimaru has told me to pick up my pace 34 times, and counting.

"Hurry up." He said coldly to me.

I swore that once I arrive at the village, I will ask Uchiha to kill Orachimaru. Since one of them is going to do it sonner or later.

Tsunade said, "Do walk a little faster; although you are a little malnutritious, you are pretty healthy anyway."

I sighed, and jogged slowly to keep up.

"Why did you take me? I mean, people like you are probably very busy..." I asked.

"Oh, the Third told us to come and pick you up." Tsunade said.

"What? He can see the future?" I gasped.

"Not really. He has instincts. And his crystal ball could see the present." Tsunade said, "It's really useful. He asked us to keep a watch on you, because at some point, you are going to be important."

I thought about it, and didn't believe her. But I'll laugh about this years later. And why does the Third needs me? Is a question I didn't pursue now, and that caused me much troubles later.

"So tell me your story." Tsunade said.

I was busy keeping up. "Huh?"

"Your history. Why did you show up to Amegakure with out identification?"

I thought for a long time and then said, "I fell out of the sky."

Orachimaru snorted.

Tsunade smirked a little, and said, "No, I am serious. You are someone without any proof that you existed in this world. We are suspicious of people like that."

"Oh, then..." I found myself thinking up of an excuse, "I didn't live in any of the ninja countries..."

She raised an eyebrow.

"I lost al my memories when I woke up in Amegakure. The whole place is very strange to me, and I just adapted, I guess."

"Amnesia?" She pondered.

I nodded.

"Well, the third did tell us to keep a close watch on you..." She said thoughtfully, "So you have never met the Third before?"

"No." I said.

Orachimaru's eyes narrowed, "So you lied to us?"

"Well, if I have any other choice, I wouldn't lie to you." I said, "And besides, we all know how truthful you are."

Orachimaru's eyes narrowed and he glared at me through his slit, Voldemort like eyes.

"You know, considering that you are not a ninja and I am... you better watch out." Orachimaru said.

I shivered and hid behind Tsunade.

She laughed a little and said, "Don't scare her, she might be useful..."

So I am a tool...

Well, it's not the first time I have been used. Thinking of Uchiha, I wanted to slam my fist in his face. But then I looked down at my leaf pendent, which was hanging on my neck, beneath my shirt, I wondered what I did to cause him to go over there, to a place where he had no idea how to deal with.

"Tsunade, do you know about the Uchihas?" I asked tenderly.

"Sure, the smartasses." She growled.

"Really." I tried to get her to talk more about them.

"Yes, that kid, the Uchiha prodigy..." she waited and pondered for a while."Where is he now? Jounin?"

"He has been promoted to ANBU a couple of years ago." Orachimaru said.

"He is either going to be great, or terrible." Tsunade frowned, but then she tossed her hair, "Well, it's not going to be my problem!"

I want to tell her how wrong she is, but I couldn't, so I stiffed laughter.

"Oh. How old is he?" I asked

"Around 12, 13..." Tsunade said, "I think I am older than him by 20 years."

"You're 33?" I gasped.

She glared at me.

"You are very pretty." I said truthfully.

She pats my back, but then it felt like she is using a steam iron to slam me against my back. I stumbled forward and accidentally bumped in to Orachimaru.

Both of us jumped away, treating each other like vermin.

"Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew..." I gasped, trying to shake off Orachimaru germs.

He narrowed his eyes at me again.

Tsunade laughed and kept going.

But a little later I found out how I should keep my mouth shut and act nice towards every body-- including Orachimaru.

---

"So..." Orachimaru licked his lips and stared at me.

"Get the hell away from me!" I yelled.

He pulled out a roll of bandage from no where and wrapped it around my head.

"I don't think you are in any position to fight with me..." He said.

I agree. Because currently I am tied to a stump and my mouth is bandaged, standing in front of me is Orachimaru, who is apparently enjoying every second of this, despite the fact I am not an Uchiha and I am not a guy.

Which is disturbing... or haven't I mentioned that?

"I think from now on you will be more respectful towards me." He said, "You tick me off."

I mumbled a lot of times, which, translate to words he could understand would be, "let me go you sick SOB"

"It's just unfortunate, that Tsunade went to hunt..." he said again.

I wanted to cry.

"Well, what shall we do then?" he asked me.

I mumbled.

He took the bandage off and said, "What do you suggest?"

I said, "If you rape me, you will be...cursed." I said.

He said, "Why would I rape you?"

I stared at him.

"My standards are not that low." He took me by my jaw and licked my cheek,

Two things happened. One is good and one is bad.

The good one is that -- Tsunade came back, with a wild chicken.

The bad is that, I puked on Orachimaru.

---

"I was thinking, and I thought that it might be better if I travel by my self." I said to Tsunade.

Tsunade was still laughing her head off.

"..." Orachimaru wanted to kill me, I know that. But I already apologized to him tons of times. And told him that it's not good to lick strangers. Who knew, I might have swine flu.

"If you travel with us, you will be at Konoha by tomorrow sundown." She said.

I sighed, and made a mental note to my self that never ever talk to or acknowledge Orachimaru's existence again. Apparently he is a sick mental bastered.

"There is a clearing just up ahead, clean your self," Tsunade handed me a towel and a bar of soap. "Want me to come with you?" She asked,

"I don't want to be self conscious." I said, "And please keep an eye on your comrade..."

She laughed again, much to our annoyance.

I strolled toward the clearing and thinking all kind of possibilities.

Usually in stories, heroine bathing, and an incredibly hot guy came and they end up having sex, or not. Those are the only kind of possibilities.

Then again, it is incredibly unlikely that a hot guy would stumble across the clearing, mainly because there are so few, it's pathetic.

When I arrived at the clearing, I sighed and took off my cloth, but then I saw a dash of red hair appearing in front of me.

I prepared to scream, but a hand clamped my mouth shut, so I could only mumble.

I hate mumbling.

"If I let you go, will you promise to be quiet?" The person asked me.

I nodded fervently, relieved that she is a female.

She let go, I quickly scrambled in to the water and looked at her.

She is very pretty, prettier than Tsunade. She has very long red hair flowing down her back, and a gentle, sad pair of eyes.

"Tsunade and Orachimaru are near, aren't they?" She asked me softly.

I nodded. Thinking that I have seen her before but I couldn't think of where.

"I have to go." She said, picking up the remaining of her clothing.

"Wait, are you going to Konoha?" I asked.

She paused, and looked up at the night sky. "I don't know anymore..."

I thought for a while, and said, "Since you don't know, could you travel with me to Konoha? You're a ninja right? I really don't want to travel with Orachimaru anymore. He constantly sexual harasses me. "

She thought for a minute, and said, "All right."

I quickly cleaned my self, and scribbled a note to Tsunade.

A little later Tsunade and Orachimaru would try really hard to understand the note, and on the half wet, squiggly lines, it says: I'm going to Konoha with someone else, see you there!

The women looks nice, so I decided to travel with her, considering that most people belong to Kishimoto would look nice to be nice, and look mean to be mean.

Except that damn Uchiha....

I shook him out of my mind and turned to the women, "I'm Chiro. Who are you?"

She paused for a while, and answered softly, "I'm Kushina. Kushina Uzumaki."

.............

.......................

.......................................

After a very, very long time, I regained my senses, I blurted out, "Why the hell did you name your son Naruto?"

---

"Do you think that somewhere deep in his mind, he would forgive me, his mother?" Kushina asked me softly.

"Not a chance." I answered.

She walked beside me and said, "Why is that?"

"Because, imagine if you are him, and you are a boy who is shunned upon by what is sealed inside him, and nobody knew who his mother or father is…"

She was almost on the verge of crying.

"And the citizens have denied his right to exist…" I finished my speech, looked at her pitilessly. It's not that I don't like her, it's just that I feel so much pity for the Naruto right now, I don't have much to spare for his parents, who, at least, had experienced happiness with each other.

Naruto did not experience that at all.

She didn't cry. She looked ahead and said, "You are a kind person."

I laughed, "Of course I am…"

She smiled a little, and said, "I came here because I want to see him. I want to see him so much… I…"

"He resembles a lot of Minato." I said.

"I know…"She sighed, "But I have never seen him before, I want to see him, perhaps just from far away, just a peek would be enough, just a little…"

I didn't speak for a long time.

"I… can't." She finally decided and walked a little slower. "No matter what, I can't see him. I promised Minato not to. He wants him to grow up alone and strong…"

"He is a son of a bitch." I said.

She looked at me, not at all mad, but surprised.

"He knew perfectly well that one day, his son is going to be the way he is now, and he did nothing to stop it from happening. He would rather have his own son be treated like a monster than seal it into any other baby. It is both honourable, and stupid. It is the most idiotic thing to do… and you didn't stop him." I said, looking at her.

"I didn't." She said clearly. "I didn't."

"You must think, in this world there is no room for personal feelings, and no room for selfishness. You are probably right. You are like him; both are very, very stupid." I said.

She didn't speak for full five minutes, and then she said, "I understood what you meant."

I didn't say anything back to her.

"I fell in love with an idiot, and became an idiot my self." She said. Her long hair flowed with the branches and leaves.

I waited for a long time, and said finally, "If... If you have a choice, would you fall in love with him all over again?"

"I would." She said determinedly, "Even though he is clumsy, dumb, and corny with all his responsible and justice ways, I still will love him…"

"He didn't choose you at the end. He didn't even choose his son." I said.

"I know." She said.

We walked for about half and hour or so, when she asked me, "I won't ask you how you knew about all this, but tell me your story. You seem to know everything about me and I know nothing about you."

I thought for a moment and said, "Well, do you believe in time travel?"

"No." She said.

"Well, that makes everything so much easier." I said, "I fell in love with a SOB and he left me and came here, so I am going to Konoha and hunt him down…"

"Who is it?" She asked, and I guess it's naturally for females to be very gossip-ish.

"Ka…Ka… shi…" I said, one syllable at a time, pronouncing his name with great difficulty, and look down upon my self for telling such a big lie and blaming it all on Kakashi's head. But as far as I knew, Kakashi is never going to meet Kushina again, and everything will be ok.

She gasped a little, "The white haired kid with the mask?"

I gulped and forced my self to nod slightly.

So sorry to all Kakashi fans, because his name was the first that came up to my mind, and therefore there is no point making up some name.

I didn't say Uchiha's name because Uchiha is younger than me by 3 and half years, and so it would be weird to say I feel in love with a 13 year old, even though I fell in love with the older Itachi.

"He was cold and cool somehow… I didn't like him that much…"Kushina said comfortingly, "People like him need promises of a life time, and are very fragile emotionally. They cannot take any betrayal, or else they will snap and break."

I nodded, my face is turning green. Thinking of Kakashi being emotionally fragile was enough to make me laugh aloud for three full minutes.

"Isn't Minato emotionally fragile?" I asked.

"No. He was stronger." Kushina said. "He was strong enough to make the decision of leaving his family behind to same a bunch of people he was responsible for."

"Men are like that." I said comfortingly.

"You right." Kushina said, "If it were you, you probably won't make the same decision. But I did, and I respect him for it. That is what was stupid about me."

I was reminded of Ginny and Harry, they are probably the exact same.

"You're right. I wouldn't make the same decision." I said, "I would want someone who would betray all his beliefs and morals for me, and…"

I didn't speak anymore, because I was reminded of Uchiha. He betrayed his family for the village. He is the same, the same as Minato and the same as Harry Potter…

I couldn't breathe for a few seconds, but as Kushina patted me behind my back, I snapped back to the reality.

"It is selfish for us if we ask too much. Women aren't meant to be men's obstacles." Kushina said.

I breathed out, and decided that I have done enough thinking for one day.

"Kushina, tell me about your story with Minato." I said, "Because one day, I might write a book and put that part in there. I'm always on the look out for materials to write about…"

"You reminded me of Jiraiya." She said.

I choked.

To prevent me from charging at her, she quickly started telling her story.

"A long time ago... Longer than anyone could ever remember, in a small and secluded part of the forest in between the country of Whirlpool and Leafs, we met…"

---

We continued to walk towards Konoha the day after, and Kushina stopped suddenly.

"This is as far as I could go with out being detected." She said. "If you follow this path, you would see the gate."

"Oh." I said, feeling a little sad that I'm never going to see her again.

She waved to me and smiled.

"Do you want to give anything to your son?" I asked, "I could pass it on to him.

"Oh. I don't have anything that is worth giving…" She said to me, looking desperate.

I thought for a moment, and said, "A kunai or a ninja star would be nice."

"But they are not special or unique; I want to give him something that's from me only…" She said quietly.

I thought for a moment, and said, "If you want, cut a little lock of your hair, and then I'll pass it on to him, I'll tell him that it's from his mother…"

She didn't hesitate; she pulled out her knife and cut a thick lock of her hair, and handed it to me.

"You don't have to cut this much…" I sweat dropped.

"I want to give a part of it to you." She said softly. "Thank you very much."

I smiled at her, and tucked the lock carefully in to my small bag, and waved to her goodbye.

She was a nice, gentle woman. I guess falling in love and got betrayed can change someone a lot.

---

For a long while I stayed at the Konoha Gate and stared inside. The gate was closed and I didn't see any ANBU or guards. I wonder if the Third knew I was coming and welcomed me with a surprise party.

I have been planning for this ever since I came to this world. Now I have no idea how to react. Beyond this gate lies everyone I am familiar with. Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai, Asuma, and their teams…

I know about secrets that few people in the village knew, and I know their fates.

Destiny is their biggest enemy.

No matter how great they turn out to be, they are merely… characters out of a book. Why am I here? Am I insane? No. I automatically scratched it out. The existence of Uchiha is clear and distinct, there is no way everything was just an illusion.

I stood there and looked up at the tall gates, wondering if I should just live my life as a normal villager for the rest of my life and get away from all the drama and fighting.

I don't tend to do well, leading an eventful life.

"It's Chiro, is it?" A saw a figure coming towards me slowly, and a pipe hanging from his mouth.

I stared at him for a long time in the mist. His old face, his wrinkly eyes and skin, his blotches and his over large hat…

I cried. I ran to him and I cried my head off.

I am nothing. I am merely a girl who got lucky and came here by my self, all by my self, and I had to endure so many things that I wouldn't even dare to imagine, and all for an illusion. The illusion of a guy who… loves me.... and I don't know anymore. I don't know what to do anymore.

The Third hugged me in his arms for a long time, and patted my hair knowingly, and let my tears drench his cool Hokage uniform.

But years later I would come to understand. Understand why he wasn't suspicious of me, why he was so calm and natural about it. And why he didn't ask me any questions…

But by then it was too late.

---

I told him everything.

The Third is the only person since I came here, that I told everything to. He listened quietly with out interruptions and questions. At last I finished my adventure, he asked me kindly, "Do you want to stay here at Konoha?"

"Yes, I do." I said to him.

"Well, then we'll have to get you a job. What kind of job would you prefer?" He asked me.

"I would like to work at some place like the hospital or a restaurant." I said.

He glanced at me and said, "You sure have weird logic."

I smiled at him.

"We need to find you a place to live, then…" He said.

"Excuse me…" The door opened, and a very beautiful woman with black hair came inside. "I was wondering if the Third was busy this afternoon…"

"Mikoto. Welcome. This is Chiro…"The Third said to her, and introduced us.

I shook hands with her and said, "You look kind of familiar…"

"She is the mother of Sasuke and Itachi." The Third added.

My eyes grew wide.

"My, what a cute reaction." Mikoto smiled softly, "Is she one of Itachi's admirers too?"

I controlled my self not to laugh.

"Something likes that…" The Third said, and then suddenly the pipe was dropped, "I thought of a great idea!"

We looked at him.

"Chiro, you go outside." He said to me, and then said to Mikoto, "I have a proposal for you"

I looked at them, and they stared back at me.

"Keep on talking…" I said softly.

"…" The Third blew a puff of smoke at me, and I quickly ran outside, but as soon as I did that, I listened to the door, but damn, I can't hear anything.

Is it a good idea to tell the Third everything? I mean, I told him basically things that I think is important. I didn't tell him things too personal and that might distract the future.  
"Why are you listening at the Hokage's door?" A voice came above me.

I looked up, and saw a tall Asuma, whose cigarette is almost touching my face.

I yelped and jumped away from him.

"You are too scary sometimes." Kurenai said, appearing in behind from Asuma.

"I… I… I just arrived…Hi. I'm Chiro." I stutter out of pure joy. "What's your name?" I asked.

They looked at me weirdly, and asked, "Is the Hokage in there?"

"Yeah." I answered.

"I see." Kurenai said, "Who is he speaking to?"

"Mikoto-chan." I said respectfully. Because any women who is able to raise the Uchihas are very respectful.

"Chiro, come in. Oh, and you two can come in too." The Hokage yelled from inside.

I quickly pushed the door open, and smiled as brightly as I could as the Third introduced me, and then he said, "I think it would be a good idea if Chiro could live with Mikoto and her family. She isn't a ninja, so we need to keep an eye out for her…"

I, of course, was ecstatic, and didn't really pay attention to what he had to say after that.

---

Then I learned it isn't what it seemed.

"If you were a spy, then it would be really hard trying to spy in our house, because our family is the guardian of Konoha…" Mikoto smiled at me.

"I know." I said, "I'm not a spy."

"I didn't think so." She said, and we walked together along the streets, "I would show you around, but I have three hungry mouths that I need to feed at home, and besides, I need to pick up Sasuke from preschool."

I nearly squealed. It is not a secret that Sasuke is super cute when he was young.

"Um… Is... Itachi-san…"

"Oh, you're older than him, so do not worry about the formalities. He went out on to a mission yesterday."

I nearly wailed.

"Why will he be back?" I asked.

"Around a week…"Mikoto calculated, then she puts her finger to her mouth, "Shh, don't tell others I said that. He is in the ANBU and his missions are supposed to be top secret."

The Konoha streets are just as peaceful as I imagined, although I'm not familiar with the ways of life, but I think I can handle it.

"We need to get you some clothing." She said to me, "You don't look very healthy…"

And one thing led to another, I told her all about my adventure in Amegakure in tears.

She was on the verge of crying too, "Let's send them some parcels once you are settled here…"

"I agree!" I said happily.

We walked in to a fabric shop and Mikoto ordered 10 sets of clothing for me, I gasped at her and asked, "Are you rich?"

She smiles.

Then I knocked my head. Of course she is rich. If she isn't rich, then there are no rich families left in Konoha.

"Tell me, Mikoto-chan, how does it feel to have two genius sons in the family?" I asked her.

She thought for a moment and asked, "Is Itachi really that famous outside?"

"He will be." Believe it or not, I added silently.

"Well." She smiled really big as she walked in to the grocery store, "It feels terrific."

I gawked at her as she picked out the vegetables fluently and stuffed them in to the basket. What a doting mother…

"You are a nice person, Chiro-chan." She said to me, "I could just tell."

"…" I didn't say anything.

"Although, you some how reminded me of my eldest son…" She said, "Somehow…"

That has already been said to me, and I treat it as a mass hallucination.

"Mikoto-san, you live here?" I asked as we arrived at the front door of the Uchiha clan.

"Ah." She smiled.

…

"I can't see the end of either side of the wall." I said to her.

"Ah…" She said, "If you walk down the street for around 5 blocks, you'll see the end."

"You… You... own five blocks?" I gasped.

"Not really, my husband owns it." She said, "And it's not five blocks either…"

I let out a breath.

"It's a ten block square, and the radius is 5 blocks, Chiro-chan, are you feeling ok?"

I grabbed on to the wall for support, and then thought about how this is all going to be empty…

"Oh, shoot, I forgot to pick up Sasuke." She said worriedly, and then looked at me.

"Uh…Ill go." I said, under her pressure.

"You will? It's just down 5 blocks…"

"…" So Sasuke's school is right beside his house. Lucky boy…

"Thank you so much, Chiro-chan!" She smiles softly, "I have to prepare dinner."

"Oh. Ok." I waved good bye to her and walked down the street.

Is she trying to force me to adapt to this place? Oh, sure, I won't get lost, I won't be eaten by Orachimaru, I won't be killed by some random ninja, and I'm just a reader who strolled unconsciously through the streets of Konoha, picking up the future rogue ninja that is going to break the hearts of many girls…

I wonder if I walked too slowly, because by the time I arrived at Konoha Preschool, I saw a sad little figure dressed in all black sitting at the front steps, holding a backpack and a lunch box.

"Sasuke?" I asked, and resist the urge to hug him and pinch his cheeks.

"Who are you?" He was suddenly alarmed.

Don't worry; I have experience dealing with kids like him.

"I'm Chiro, and I'm here to pick you – "

Before I even finish my smiling introduction, I saw him dashing past me and ran ahead.

…

I ran after him.

"Stop! Stop!" I screamed while running after him.

"Get away from me! Liar! Get away from me!" He screamed louder.

… "You brat!" I yelled, feeling stupid chasing after a 5 and a half year old.

"Get away from me! My brother isn't in town! He isn't interested in you!" Sasuke screamed.

"…" By this time every body on the black stared at us and I want to dig a hole in the ground.

"You—"

I stopped because Sasuke and I both bumped in to a large and solid wall. Sasuke bounced off and fell to the ground, I bounced off and staggered back, accidentally bumped in to Sasuke again, who was just getting up, and we both fell on to the ground again.

"What is this?" The wall spoke.

We both looked up and saw Uchiha Fugaku.

"Father…" Sasuke suddenly look a little ashamed and guilty. He stood up and bowed to the older Uchiha, then answered his questions while lowering his head.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm home from preschool."

Fugaku frowned, and I'm guessing he is wondering why his second son is in preschool when his first son graduated school at 7.

"I see." He glanced at me, turned around, and walked back to the Uchiha front gate.

We followed him.

"The Third Hokage mentioned to me about you." Fugaku said to me.

I muttered something illegible.

"As long as you don't get in the way, you are welcome to live with us." He said to me coldly.

At this point I am wondering why the hell Mikoto married him.

"You are not part of the Uchiha family, so be aware of your position." He said.

I muttered something.

"We do not tolerant traitor, and once you enter this gate, you will be loyal to the Uchiha family." He continued.

"Yes." I said quietly.

He stared at me for a long time, and this is a technique used to intimidate others. I'm positive that it works quite well, because I am very intimidated by him.

"One more thing." He said to me before turning around, "Stay away from my sons."

…

---

"Don't worry about Fugaku, he is like that." Mikoto said to me as she sewed the Uchiha symbol on to my new shirt.

"Ah." I answered. This whole day is tiring. After dinner, Sasuke insisted on training and I had to go with him to the forest, and then he left me there.

After I got back, asking several people on the street where the Uchiha family is, Fugaku is pissed that I knocked on the door at 9 pm.

Then I helped Mikoto preparing lunch for Sasuke, and a letter just came, saying that I will be working at the hospital the day after tomorrow.

"Why did you marry him, Mikoto-chan?" I asked her.

She laughs a little. "He may seem cold and distant, but he is actually really nice…"

"Nice…" frowned, imagining a nice Fugaku and it doesn't come to my head.

"He…"Mikoto started, but then trailed off, and was lost in thoughts.

I looked at my own clothing. I am wearing Mikoto's shirt and pants, with her Uchiha symbol sewed on. I wonder why I have to be loyal to the Uchihas when I am not even a member of them.

"You must be tired." She was back in reality, "Sleep now."

Of course I didn't protest. I felled asleep in 5 seconds.

---

Late at night I had a weird dream, I dreamt that I was back at Amegakure, and the children were snuggling against me, begging me to tell a bed time story when I was on the verge of falling asleep. I ignored them, and the next morning I woke up, I found Sasuke snuggling against me, whispering for his mommy.

I don't know what to do. His chubby little hands are so soft and cute, not like Konan or Nagato; their hands are just bony and thin. But what do I do now? Should I move him away from me?

I didn't have to worry because Sasuke woke up.

He immediately jumped away from me and said in disgust, "I'm not Itachi. Why are you in my bed?"

"You're in my bed." I pointed out to him, and asked, "Do you mean that there are a lot of girls crawl to Itachi's bed?"

He gave me a blank stare, and then said, "Well, it won't happen again! I'm late for preschool!"

I yawned, and asked, "Sasuke, what are you worrying about? Are you worried that you might fail kindergarten?"

If he could blow fire from his mouth right now, he would do it to me and did not care weather it's in his house or not. But fortunately for me his chakra isn't strong enough to do that, so I said, "Sasuke, you are doing great. Your father would be very proud of you."

His eyes widened, but immediately he ran out from my room and down the hall way.

I opened the window, it is a lovely morning.

"Chiro! Get dressed; we're going to the market!" Mikoto said to me through the doors.

I answered, "Yeah." And resist the urge to fall back asleep. Because recently I got in to a habit of sleeping as late as I wanted, and now I really don't want to get up.

"Chiro!" Mikoto yelled.

"I'm up! I'm up!" I got a quick shower and got dressed as fast as I could, then ran in to the living room, to my surprise, all members of the family was waiting for me at the breakfast table.

"Get up early next time." Fugaku sent me a glare that could freeze me right there, but then I avoided by lowering my head like Sasuke. I fit in to this family too well. Basically all you have to do is to act like air and there you go…

Breakfast was porridge and some small side dishes. It was so fulfilling and good (back on earth I would puke at the sight of them) that I ate more than anyone else. After Fugaku excused himself from the table, Sasuke could finally stare at me openly.

"If you have been starved, boy," I said, after gulping down a bow of porridge, "You will be thankful of everything that you have right now."

"Yes, listen to her." Mikoto said to Sasuke.

"But, mother…" Sasuke seems reluctant.

"She will be your big sister from now on." Mikoto said, "Treat her nicely. One day she is going to be in the family."

I nearly choked on that, but Mikoto shooed Sasuke out of the door when he was about to ask more questions.

"I can't show you around the village much, I have a lot to do, When Itachi gets back, and then he could show you around. Right now, just be familiar with the basic places and you will be fine. If you get lost, mention the Uchihas and they will know. Now, let's go to the market…"

---

This day just keeps on getting more and more exciting.

Around in the afternoons, the Third was strolling around the cliff with statue walls, and he asked me to join him. So I did. Although it bothers me the Hokage of a whole village is strolling around under the statue in the afternoons. Doesn't he have something Hokage related to do?

We climbed up the huge mountain, and I was gasping for breath by the time we got to the top.

"I was wondering…"He blew out a puff of smoke and said kindly, "You know about the future, don't you?"

I nodded, too tired to breath.

"So you know the future of this village?" He asked softly.

I sat the hair of the Fourth, and said, "you're village will be safe, don't worry."

"Oh… So you also know about the future of…"

"I know the future of important people." I said, still gasping for breath.

He blew out a puff of smoke, and said, "When I was young…I never thought that I would sit at my position today."

"Whoa. That must be a long time ago." I said casually.

He glanced at me and said, "I wonder how much you know."

"I know more than you think I do." I said, and slowing catching my breath. The view up here is beautiful. The entire village is just beneath the statues.

"This is village… Is everything that I have lived for." He said to me, "This is the village that I slaved my entire life for. And I am not sad. I am not regretful of my decision. I love this village and I would walk the same path that I did…"

He trailed off, looking at the sunset. I lay against a rock and watched the sunset with him.

"I want to ask you a favour." He said to me.

I looked up at him.

"I want you to watch over this village." He said.

I nearly fell off the Fourth's hair, but then the Third grabbed my arm and steadied me.

"Are you giving me your position?" I gasped.

"Of course not. You don't know any ninjatsu." He said.

I let out a breath. Thank god…

"I want you, to be one of the elders." He said.

"…" I stared at him; he blew out a puff of smoke.

"No." I said to him. "No way!"

"Why?" He asked me.

"Because to be an elder, you have to be old." I said, "I'm not old. I'm 16!"

"Age does not matter when it comes to this." He said,

"Oh." I said.

"Besides, something tells me this might be the most useful decision I will ever make in my life." He said.

I shook my head. "This is too much. I hate responsibilities. And I don't want to be branded to Konoha forever. I came from Amegakure, besides, the children will one day be—"

I stopped myself from saying anything else.

"If you insist on it, then so be it." He said.

"Don't worry; the elders are not going to make much wrong decisions in the future." I said, "I mean, they did so many bad things in the past, their conscious must've came to them somehow…"

"And there is one more thing that I am worried about…"he looked down at the small river, where I saw, for the first time, Naruto dived in to the river to make his classmates laugh.

"He is going to be great." I said, "He is the least thing you should worry about. He is probably the luckiest guy that I will ever know."

"The villagers do not treat him the way his father wants him to be treated." The Third said.

"Because they are blind and superficial." I said, "Besides, he is going to live through it. He is strong. He has his ways…" Garra is more pathetic, compared to him. Naruto have no idea how lucky he is, compared to Nagato, Konan, Yahiko and Garra.

"Can you watch over him once I die?" The Third asked me.

"Oh there will be a lot of people watching over him by then." I said.

The Third smiles. "That's good, so I won't die anytime soon."

I glared at him. He is a cunning old fox, but a kind old fox nevertheless.

"I remember… around 6 years ago." He said, as if lost in his memory again. "His father came to me, and told me that he is going to be fighting the Nine Tailed Fox…"

I listened to the story, the sun has already set.

"It is then I realized that he is worthy to be the Hokage." The Third said. "He told me that he is going to die, and he wants me to watch over Konoha while he was at it."

The Third blew out a puff of smoke and continued, "And he also said…to watch over his wife and son."

I sneered in my heart.

"Most people would think it is a respectful thing to do. I bet you think it's a selfish thing to do." The Third said to me.

I didn't disagree.

"He really did love his son and wife…"

"It's just the village comes first." I said, "And the village he fought for to protect paid him back by denying his son's right to exist."

The Third didn't say anything.

"He is selfish." I said, and then looked at the Third, "Do you think he was right?"

"He did what has to be done." The Third said.

"He was a tool used by his village." I said.

"And speaking of which." The Third said, "I suspect that you know about Itachi?"

"Which part? The part where you forced him to turn against his own clan by using the village as an excuse? Or when you use his kindness for your own selfish reasons?" I asked him, feeling angry.

"Things like that are unavoidable." The Third did not deny it. He blew a puff of smoke. "Itachi is a good kid. He reminds me of Minato. And he reminds me of Jiraiya…"

Jiraiya=Itachi… I sweat dropped.

"This world is full of wickedness and hatred." I said, "It won't ever change."

"You are right. This is the question I have been pursuing my whole life for." The Third extinguished his pipe, and tucked it away in his coat. "I don't know about the future, but I just want you to do one thing for me…"

I listened.

"Please, do not influence Itachi."

Then The Third slowly strutted down the steps of the huge statues, and I watched as the shadows slowly swallowed him whole.

In the end, he wasn't the high and mighty Hokage. He is just an ordinary, plain, stupid man. Who has tucked all feelings aside, and fight only for his village.

Like all Hokages before him.

---

"This man is dying! I want blood type O negative!"

I hurried to the medicine fridge and pulled out a bloody bag that labled, "O"

"Here it is." I handed to the doctor, who, to my infortune, happens to be Tsunade.

"What the hell are you waiting for? Hook it up!" She screamed at me.

I yelped, and quickly hooked it on to the large hanger, and attached a clean needle to the end of the wire.

But I prayed to God that I am fortunate enough not to be the man lying on the bed, because watching as Tsunade stabbed the needle in to his wrist, I wonder if Tsunade know anything about needles at all.

"What the hell are you looking at?" She barked at me, "Go clean up that mess!"

I looked at where she pointed, and realized it is the spot where another patient who was practically bathed in blood had lied.

I gulped and took up a glove and a towel, edged over to that bed.

"The next patient is on his way here; if you do not clean it up in less than 3 minutes…"

I scrubbed as if my life depends on it.

When the day was finally over, I slumped on to the nearest chair and wanted to quit my job, especially when Tsunade came over and said to me, "You're ok. Do you want to be my apprentice?"

It took all my energy to get up and ran away as fast as I could.

But the next morning, Tsunade was waiting for me at her office, "Now that you are my apprentice, I'll have to teach you the basic first aid guide, you are only allowed to treat normal patients, because your chakra isn't strong enough to be a ninja…"

I could only cry to my self on the inside as I watched Tsunade talking nonstop.

---

When I was back from work the fourth day since I came to Konoha, I heard a small whimpering coming from above me. I looked up, and saw the huge face of the Fourth.

I climbed up his face, trying not to knock his nose off, and saw a small little shadow hidden away in a corner, leaking tears from its location.

"If you want to cry, then you should cry as loud as you can, and let everyone hear it." I said, and approached the sad little figure curling up on top of a corner of the huge statue on the Fourth.

"Leave me alone!" He yelled.

"Heck, of course not! I finally get to meet the protagonist; I'm not going to let you go that easily!" I said to myself.

"Huh?" He looked up at me.

I extended my hand out to him, "I'm Chiro. You must be Naruto."

He wiped his tears and said, "I'm not crying."

"Of course you are not," I said, "I'm not here to comfort you either."

"I don't need your pity." He said, and pulled out a huge smile.

"Put that smile away, you look like a clown." I frowned.

"I want to be like a clown." He said finally.

"Clowns are very, very… lonely." I said, and sat beside him.

"I want to make people laugh." He said.

"Oh." I nodded along.

"I want them to notice me."

"Uh-huh." I agreed.

"I want to tell them that I am neither pathetic nor sad."

"Yep, yep."

He didn't say anything else.

"Look at that." I pointed to the sunset, "Isn't it beautiful?"

He looked with me, and we watched as the ball of fire slowly descended down the mountains.

"Have you ever wondered about your father?" I asked him quietly.

He didn't say anything.

"Have you ever wondered about your mother?" I asked him again.

He remained silent.

His hair was dirty, and his clothes were dirty. His soft eyes are puffy and red, he is like a small abandoned puppy, alone in the street, and nobody wants him.

"I know about your mother and father." I said.

He looked up at me, and then lowered his head again, "So?"

"What do you mean, 'so'?" I asked, "Aren't you curious about them?"

"No." He said, "I hate them."

"Because they abandoned you?" I asked.

He didn't say anything.

"They love you very, very much." I said, "All four of your grandparents disagreed on your birth, but they went ahead and given birth to you."

"So?" Naruto asked me bitterly, "It just mean that they are stupid."

I didn't say anything. Maybe they are, maybe they are not. They are noble people, that's a fact nothing can change.

"They loved you." I said simply, feeling sorry for using past tense.

"So? Then this kind of love is blind, this kind of love isn't really love, because love is eternal, and their love lasted until I was born." Naruto said.

I blinked, and then said, "No, you are wrong."

He glared at me so hard I actually fell back a step.

"Do you know why? Because it's for the greater good… your father felt that you would be treated like a hero, you father died during the fight with the nine tailed fox. He did a noble and stupid thing; he dies so that the villagers could live. Won't you do the same thing?"

"If I have to protect this village, then no." Naruto said in disgust.

"…" I stared at his six year old figure and felt that if the face of the Fourth has ears, he would probably come back from his grave and beat his son up.

"Yes, but there is something you don't understand. This village isn't evil; they're just composed of normal a person… that's why they are foolish. They are willing to try anything to protect themselves, because the war before has burnt in to their memory…"

"What does that has to do with me? I'm not an object for them to pick on just because I am an orphan… Why do they hate me? They are looking at me in disgust… Why do they hate me?" He screamed the last sentence to me.

We both didn't say anything for a long time.

"If it helps…" I said to him softly, "I don't hate you. I like you a lot, and it will always remain this way."

He turned away, as if to control his urge to cry, then he turned back to me and said, "You remind me a lot of that old pervert."

…I'd rather go jump in a lake.

I walked Naruto home. He lives alone in one of the apartments out of the various apartments in Konoha. His apartment is kind of dirty and small, and I doubt how a six year old could survive in a condition like this, but I didn't ask.

After tucking him in, I ran as fast as I could back to Uchiha household, but I was late for dinner anyway.

"Next time you are late; you are not allowed to enter this gate for the night." Fugaku said coolly, "You live here now, and obey our rules."

"Yes." I said softly, lowering my head and bowed deeply to him.

---

It's kind of late at night, I wanted to sleep, because with everything happened today, I ended up with no dinner and a pair of legs that are threatening to kill me if I stand up anytime soon.

But Sasuke is not allowing me the luxury to do that.

He have a couple of rice rolls that he took out from his shirt, and gives to me reluctantly, "Mother wanted me to give you this."

I gulped it all down and felt so grateful to Mikoto that I swear I will pay her back one of these days.

"To repay you, I will continue to tell the story from this morning." I said to him while wiping my mouth with a napkin.

I know that I should never have started a story. But a story was desperately needed for several reasons. One, walking with Sasuke in silence to and from preschool is a torture. The villagers stares and talks about me behind my back… Well, not actually behind my back. They talk about me right in front of my face.

"Is she an Uchiha? She doesn't looks like one."

Pfft, who wants to be one with Fugaku in the house?

"I heard she's close with Uchiha Mikoto…"

"Is she the one that caught the special attention of the Hokage? Because she doesn't look like anything important…"

"Well, I think we all agree that you are pretty much useless." Sasuke said to me.

I think I probably am, in a way. Taking Tsunade's words: Chiro, you are a good for nothing! The only reason why you are here is because you have basic training in how living thins work (high school biology) and that's something normal people does not have – so use the only thing you know and create good for mankind, so you're not a rice worm in Konoha! What are you staring at me for! Get to it!"

Rice worm is a worm that eats rice all day and does nothing helpful to humans.

And that's why I'm permanently working in the hospital.

But back to the main point, I was creating a story for Sasuke, and I started with, "once upon a time there was a small ninja boy who was always unhappy, because he did not meet his father's expectations…"

And that caught his attention almost immediately. Oh geez, I wonder why.

So the tale is basically the life of Uchiha Sasuke. But I changed the tale very dramatically so that when Sasuke grows up, he won't ask me for copy right fees.

"The small boy's family all went to war, and each of them did not survive. They all went on basically suicidal missions …" At this point. Sasuke's figure was all sad and a depressed.

"He vowed to kill the person who started this war…"

"He was blinded by revenge and did not see what was truly important…"

"And in the end, his whole life was dedicated to doing something he will regret for the rest of his life…"

This story lasted for a while, and I finally finished it with a "He fell in love with a girl with lovely pink hair and they lived happily ever after…"

And then I fell asleep.

I felt Sasuke tugging on my blanket and lay beside me. It feels like I'm back in Amegakure with Nagato, Konan and Yahiko again.

---

I saw Naruto again; this time is was in the market

I was getting off from work that could only be called child labour, when I see him standing alone in half closed market, and he was not moving.

I ran up to him and smiled, "what are you doing?"

He frowned and said, "An old pervert wanted me to eat more vegetables…"

I laughed, "Let ne help you get some –"

"I don't want any." He said.

I squeezed his hand so hard he immediately yelled, "Ow! What the hell did you do that for?"

"……" I have no idea what to say. I just realized the difference between dumb and smart. If Sasuke was in his position, he would immediately reply, "Oh, I love vegetables. Let's buy more cucumbers. They look fresh…" Or something smartass related.

"You will buy them, and you will eat them! Or else I will stuff it in your mouth." I said emotionlessly.

He gulped.

But then I realized the reason why he was so reluctant to go to the market.

The old man who was selling tomatoes at a stall was always so nice to me when I buy tomatoes from him, but when Naruto approached him, he immediately screamed. "Monster! Get away from me you filthy little vermin! You &^%*&^^&*..."

As if that's not enough, he picked up his own tomatoes and threw them right at Naruto.

Naruto stood there emotionlessly as tomatoes juice splashed all over his face.

As if that's not enough, man from other stalls saw Naruto and begin to throw garbage at him too.

All this happens so fast and so incredibly stunning that I forgot to react. But by the time I realized this has gone too far, he was already covered in garbage.

"That's enough!" I screamed, "Get away from him! Get away!"

The vendors stares at me and stopped that they were doing.

I patted off the garbage on his dirty clothing and said to the vendors with venom "You all are ungrateful and blind and superficial. You guys are more pathetic than anything I have ever seen."

They didn't do anything to me. It's probably because of my shirt with the huge Uchiha symbol on the back.

I turned to Naruto, he was not moving. He was not crying either. The sun behind him has dragged his shadow in to a long, thin line.

We didn't say anything to each other; I grabbed his hand and walked away from the vendors.

We got some veggies from a store rather than a vendor, and we walked back, by that time the sun was setting.

On the way to Naruto's house, we encountered Sasuke.

"Chiro, I thought you were lost again." Sasuke said to me, completely ignoring Naruto.

"…Will you not bring that up again? How big is Konoha? I will never get lost again." I waved my hands impatiently at him.

"Yeah, yeah." Sasuke has the same amount of impatience as I do. "Are you coming back home?"

"I'm going to Naruto's house to cook these." I said, holding up the plastic bags containing the veggies.

Sasuke's eyes shifted to Naruto, and said, "oh, I didn't see you there."

Naruto jumped at Sasuke.

And in less than three second they were pulling each other's limbs and ears or biting each other's limbs and ears.

I would separate them if it's not for my hand are full, besides, this is entertaining to watch.

"You smartass!"

"Stupid idiot!"  
"You have a girlish face!"

"You have no face!"

"I do have a face!"

"Well, I don't see it!"

"…"

I sincerely begin to wonder, how does SasuNaru fans put up with it. Because, truth to be told, it does not look like they will be engaging in any kind of romance with each other for the rest of their lives… ever.

"What is this?" A cold voice came into the scene.

I immediately bowed, no matter who it is, with a voice like that he must have high authority.

"Father…" Sasuke immediately let go of Naruto and bowed deeply. Naruto was pushed to the ground and looking confused.

"Sasuke, it is already past dinner. This one simple mission lasted for half an hour. I assume someone like her is extremely hard to find in a small village like this?" Fugaku asked, his voice is filled with sarcasm.

"I'm sorry father, I will not be having any dinner, father." Sasuke said.

Fugaku nodded, but then turned around and said lightly, "Do not be with the likes of him. He is in a position less than you."

That's it. My temper flared up.

"Uchiha-sama, please have some respect towards him, as you might know, he is more powerful than you are." I said coldly to him.

Fugaku stared at me.

"I won't be returning to the Uchiha household for tonight, thank you." I said, grabbed Naruto's dirty little hands and dragged him down the street.

---

Naruto didn't say anything as I was washing the lettuce. By the time I bought up the chopped veggies and placed them on to the table, Naruto was sobbing.

I told him, "If you really don't want to eat vegetables, then I will soak them in to ramen soup so at least you will have some proteins and vitamins –"

"No, that's not it!" He cried, "You're too nice to me!"

I sat down and waited for him to continue.

"I…all these years I have been living in Konoha, no one was this nice to me! Why are you the exception? I have nothing valuable; you are the only person who was really nice to me…"

"You are going to meet someone kind, generous and amazing when you start Konoha Academy." I said, "And he will take care of you."

Naruto yelled, "I want you with me! Live with me! Don't live with those basterds anymore! I will work twice as hard once I graduate from Ninja Academy…"

I feel like sweat dropping. "Um… you are six years old."

"So?" he asked.

"Save your money for Hinata," I muttered, "or Jiraiya, he will drain you dry."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Eat your vegetables."

As he was eating as slow as he could, I looked around the house and decided to do some cleaning. But I soon regretted it, because I couldn't give up halfway and his house was messy to the point where I scrubbed layers and layers of dust and there are still layers more hidden beneath the previous layers. And the windows and walls are so tainted with dirt; no light could penetrate through at all.

As I was cleaning my old habits fell in to place again.

"Oh my gosh, can't you learn to place your cloth in to the washing machine?"

"Can't you at least make an effort of cleaning out the trash?"

"How do you live among garbage…"

Every sentence I scolds towards Naruto, he always find something to resort back to it.

"I have no time to do housework."

"I cannot cook for my self."

"Geez, I'm only six years old…"

After dinner and cleaning, I was already too tired to do anything else. But Naruto dragged me to the top of the rood and forced me to stare up at the stars.

It really is a peaceful night. The sky was pure sapphire and the stars are shining like diamonds.

"That old pervert told me," Naruto begin, "That my father is up above, watching my every move."

I looked at him, and leaned in to the chimney for support.

We silenced for a long time, and Naruto asked, "What do you think he is doing up there?"

"Probably watching you growing up." I said quietly.

Naruto silenced, but after a short time, he asked me, "Do you think he could hear me and see me?"

"Yes." I said. "He knows everything about you."

"I hate you! I hate you!" Naruto screamed.

I flinched, but looking at him intently.

He continued to yell as loud as he could, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"I wish you never existed! I wish I never existed! If I ever see you again, I'll make you regret it!"

"I hate you! I HATE YOU!"

The voice was bounced off from the cliff, where the statue of the Hokage were.

At last Naruto made one last scream.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

I have never heard such scream, it came from a six year old was too cruel. All the pain, the hurt he felt in all those years overwhelmed him like a huge water fall, he couldn't take it anymore, and he lets it all out, before he burst.

And then he curled up at a corner and cried.

I scrambled over there and hugged him close.

"I wish…I wish I was not born on to this world…If being alive was this painful..."He whispered to me, his whole body was trembling.

I pushed him away and slapped him two times in the face.

"Don't you dare." I said, "Don't you dare ever think like that. If you do, I will make sure you stay alive, if you die, I will not send flowers to your grave, I will not…"

My voice broke off. I hugged him as close as I could as I listened to his suffocated sobbing. It was a light, small whimpering, as if afraid to make any more noise…like a small kitty.

I hugged him for a long time, until he fell asleep in my arms.

But by then the sunlight peeked through.

---

I left a note in Naruto's apartment and ran to the hospital as fast as I could. But I was really tired -- too tired. I got a total of 3 hours of sleep last night. It is kind of hard to get a six year old down the roof and still not waking his sleep. Although I was under the impression that no matter what I do, Naruto will remain asleep. It will take a nuclear bomb to wake him up.

Tsunade noticed my lack of sleep and smacked me on the head, "The basic job of a nurse is not to let herself get tired, and you failed to meet that basic standard..."

I yawned, "I'm sorry, Tsunade-san"

She frowned, and said to me, "Well, today we -- what is that thing on your neck?"

Shit, the leaf pendent was tied to my neck and tucked nicely in to my shirt, but as I was yawning it fell out somehow.

"It's nothing." I said.

She pulls me towards her and yanked on my collar and took a good look at it.

The she grabbed on to the pendent.

I was about to protest, because Tsunade's fingers glowed, and I was suddenly scared. It means that Tsunade is applying chakra on to the pendent. The small leaf looks like it's made from jade; it's transparent and extremely fragile looking. If it shatters I will hold on to Tsunade's arm and bite her until blood comes out. Since there is nothing I could do against a Senin anyway.

"Oh my god." She said, "Can I have it?"

"No. It's from my lover." I said shamelessly.

She looked in to my eyes and i stared back at her, intently.

"Fine," She said after a while, "Your lover must be filthy rich."

I nodded, "uh huh, whatever."

"Do you know what it is?" She asked

"Does it matter?"

"Of course it does, that could probably support you and your next seven generation and let your descendents live comfortably until the day they die..."

Immediately my eyes glowed, "Really?"

Tsunade blinks, "I thought it's from your lover."

"Yeah but he lied to me and ditched me." I said shamelessly, "So who do you think will want to buy this?"

She sighed, "This is from the founder of leaf, Uchiha Madara. He incorporated the First Hokage's chakra with his own and created a pair of leaf shaped pendants. Although it is the symbol for peace and prosperity, the Uchiha clan asked for it back some years ago. Until that time, it stayed in the Hokage's office ever since it has been created. To my knowledge, both of them is sitting nice and comfortably in the Uchiha household right now. If you have one, then the other must be still in the Uchiha household. I wonder why they let you have it..."

"Oh, they don't know that I have it." I said,

Tsunade laughed, "How did you get it?"

"My lover gave it to me."

"Is your lover... an Uchiha?"

"Does it matter? How much do you think this will actually worth?"

"It worth probably as same as my pendent," she said, pulling out her necklace, "But you only have one leaf. The two leaves are supposed to fit together. If you have the pair, WHICH would be priceless."

"UH-huh." I said, but was mentally calculating in my head, "The first thing I would do is to buy a beautiful fairy tale castle for Konan, and then I will buy Amegakure for Nagato and Yahiko, then I'll buy a family for Sasuke.  
And I'll buy citizens who are extremely open minded for Naruto, and I'll buy that side of the cliff with his dad's face carved in to it, so that he will do whatever he want with his dad's face. Like painting nosebleed.

"How much do you think that cliff costs?" I pointed to that Hokage carvings. It looks humongous.

Tsunade smacked my head and forces me to get to work.

For the rest of the day, all i could see in front of me is hundred dollar bills falling front the sky right on to my lap.

---

Naruto was cheering up. He went back to his old ways of clowning around. But if he decides to use that as a method to protect himself, there is nothing I could do about that. But i really do support him, sometimes, something simple like a wave or a smile could save him from the verge of suicide.

To think that something so simple and trivial could influence someone so much. The villagers are too stingy to even spare a smile for Naruto.

I once again scoff at this village. But it's not for me to judge. I think that Earth was much more open-minded. This person doesn't have a life outside of their village, and i can't really blame them.

I was practically counting down the days which I could see Itachi again, but because of the lack of communication tools, there is no way to tell exactly when he will be arriving. Mikoto promised me that he will be home around in the afternoons. So i worked rally hard all day and try to get as much done as i could, hoping that he will be home by the time I'm there for dinner.

But after work, as i dragged my half dead body in to the Uchiha compound, to our disappointment (Sasuke and I), Itachi was not home yet.

Mikoto asked me, "I understand why Sasuke is disappointed, but why are you ?"

To which I replied, "I want to see what this genius looks like."

"He looks normal." Mikoto said, "He kind of a little popular, but he is normal."

"Brother isn't a little popular! He's VERY popular!" Sasuke yelled.

Geez, as if I didn't already know that. He had to rub it right in to my face.

Mikoto insisted, "He is a normal boy. Come to think of it, you are only three years older than he is, right?"

"Uh-huh." I said.

"Well," She smiled, "Three years is not that much of a big difference."

"What?" I coughed, felling a little faint.

"WHAT?" Sasuke's reaction was even more extreme. He jumped up and yelled, "I disagree!"

Ding!

The bell that was hanging at the Uchiha gate rang, and all of us held our breath, waiting for the door to be opened.

The door did open, but its Uchiha Fugaku.

We all sighed and resumed to our original positions.

Fugaku was apparently excited too. But he shows it by frowning, and wearing an expression that gives the exact same feeling as the polar ice caps.

Neither of us speaks as we waited.

Mikoto and I decided that he is not going to how up when we waited half past midnight.

I suddenly felt irritated. Each minute, each second felt like a life time long, and I really don't have that much patience to sit around and wait...

Especially when I got up the following morning, running to the dining room in my pajamas but only to find he was still not at home.

---

Sasuke was clearly in a bad mood. He wanted to see his brother so badly. But come to think of it, he always wanted to see his brother badly. It's just that his intention has changed over time.

A couple of days later I was getting off from work and picking up Sasuke from preschool, when right then, a dark cloud over came us and in less than 30 seconds, it begin to pour.

Sasuke as putting on his rain boots when it happened.

"I don't think boots will protect much now." I said, feeling depressed, tired, and hungry.

Sasuke tsked at me, and then sat at the front porch of the building, I sat net to him.

You'd think in weather like this nobody would bother to pick their kids up, but as the rain dragged on, parent stampedes in to the building and led their child out one by one.

And soon Sasuke and I were the only ones left, and the weather was as wonderful as ever.

We both watched as the pea shaped rain drops slams against the ground. Then I begin to speak, "You know, in this world, it was always raining when something happens."

Sasuke scoffed.

"You are not cute at all." I scolded him. "You should act more your age."

"You should act more your age." he said.

"Back where I was from, every girl my age acts like this." I said.

"What a pathetic place then..."

I smacked his head, and then said, "Anyways, it always rains when something sad happens. Maybe because the sky was crying too. The sky was crying… about…how hopeless..."

I didn't say anything anymore, because I suddenly lost my voice.

"Yeah, yeah..."

I was thinking: you won't scoff the day you're going to fight Naruto, and the day you murder your brother.

But my thoughts were distracted by s small shifting sound at the back.

"Uh... So annoying..." Sasuke frowned.

I looked behind me, and I was a miniature Sakura, hiding behind the doors watching us. Only here eyes and her hair was shown, but she was soooo cute I almost wanted to scream out "KAWAII!!" and jump over there, pulling her in to a tight hug.

But then I realized, Sasuke was referring to how annoying Sakura was.

I smacked Sasuke on the head again and then smiled as Sakura, "come here and sit with us. My name is Chiro. What's yours?"

Sakura hesitated for a long time, and then she made a big decision of walking over here, and sitting beside me.

"I'm... Sakura... Haruno Sakura." She said.

"Oh. It's a beautiful name." I complimented her, and saw her white cheeks blush.

"Thank you." She whispered, and stealing a glance at Sasuke, who is even more annoyed.

I sighed, if I have time, I'll educate Sasuke in to acknowledge Sakura.

"Do you want to hear a story?" I asked Sakura.

"Uh huh." She nodded.

Sasuke sat a little straighter.

So I begin.

"Once upon a time, there was a small girl… She was ordinary and plain, and has silly little dreams every now and then… But for as long as she has known, her life is dedicated to one person… the little boy…"

"I don't want to listen anymore." Sasuke immediately said.

"Cover up your ears, then." I said crossly at him.

Sakura's eyes were shining, looking at me with great respect. Geez… I wish I was as old as her.

And so I continued.

"The little boy was handsome and cute at the same time…He attracts a lot of other little girls… But the small girl always stood by him…"  
"After his family has been killed in the war, the girl was always beside him, comforting him…"

"Even when the boy was blinded by revenge, the girl didn't complaint at all, but still stayed with him…"

"After he got his revenge, he realized how she was always with him…"

"But by then the girl became really pretty and attracted many other followers…"

By this time my throat was on fire. And Sasuke interrupted, "Hey! I thought you said her lived happily ever after with her!"

"What? When did I say that? Are we talking about the same story?" I asked him.

"…"

"Anyway. The girl wasn't sure anymore. She was insecure, because he never looks like he loves her…"

I paused, because I was never really sure that Sasuke ever loved Sakura. I know that by the recent updated manga, I'm not even sure that Sasuke knows Sakura exists at all.

He was too caught up on destroying this village…

I looked at Sasuke, who was looking bored and uninterested, so I raised my hand and smacked his head.

"Ow! What was that for?" He yelled.

"For eight years later!" I yelled back.

"Why, what's going to happen eight years later?" Sakura asked cutely.

I shook my head and said, "I know that Sasuke is going to turn out to be a bad seed…"

Sasuke ignored me and said, "Can we go now? The rain already stopped."

We looked up at the sky and saw that it is true, the rain really did stop. But the rain has hit on many Sakura trees and flower petals fell to the ground, making everything looks a shade of pink.

"Is Onee-chan ever going to finish that story?" Sakura asked me.

I paused for a moment and said, "He loves her. Yes. I know now that he does love her, no matter what happens… he does love her."

Sakura's eyes glowed.

"And they loved happily ever after." I said finally, kissed Sakura's forehead and smiled at her, hoping that it will actually come true one day.

Sasuke didn't say anything. He stood up, patting the dirt off of his pants.

"Let's go." I held on to Sakura and Sasuke's hands on either side, despite Sasuke's reluctance, and walks forward, down the steps.

Unfortunately, because of the rain, it is every slippery, plus the flower petals decrease the friction…

Anyway, I slipped.

Of course the two little brats slipped with me. I was grabbing tightly on to their hands.

I rolled down the steps like a bucket, and the two brats fell on top of me as I bonked my head on to the last step.

"Ow!" I yelled, and felt tears gushing out of my eyes. It's embarrassing to cry about this little thing, but these days I was so depressed and emotions build up naturally. I want to cry all I could, and spent all the tears away when no one is looking, and then when something sad really happens, I don't have to cry anymore.

Suddenly I felt Sasuke struggle out of my grasp and ran forward, along with Sakura, who tends to follow Sasuke determinedly no matter how he treats her.

"Onii-san!" Sasuke screamed.

I immediately wiped away my tears and looked. I saw a lean figure standing under the cherry tree, he was dressed in all black, and he was extending his arm out to Sasuke.

Tears again blurred my visions, I couldn't breath properly. This feeling… of relieve, of anger, of…

I stood up, and forgot all my pains. I tried to walk properly but somehow stumble unintentionally, plus the fact that I couldn't see clearly.

I didn't blink. I kept my eyes open as wide as possible. Blinking… even blinking is a waste of time when I'm with him. Every single second is precious and valuable…

"Onii-san, this is Chiro, she's staying with us…"

I couldn't hear what Sasuke was saying. I walked close to them, but found out that I couldn't see his face clearly because of the tears in my eyes.

"Hi…" I said, and my voice broke.

He extended out his hands and I heard his voice, "Hello. Thank you for taking care of my brother. I'm Uchiha Itachi. Nice to meet you."

I couldn't think. The only thing I know is that he doesn't remember me. He doesn't remember me anymore. He doesn't know me at all, and therefore he couldn't…

What else did I expect?

I collapsed. It's overwhelming, this feeling that I resent. It's crashing down on me like a huge waterfall, depleting my ability to breath.

I continue to stare at him, and finally, after a long time, my tears fell.

At that instant, the whole world was crystal clear.

Part 2 –END

A/N: Ok, this is a crappy chapter. I'll update the third chapter soon. Sooo tiring….

Anyone wannna be my beta??? Anyone???


	3. Chapter 3

In light of a few recent emails, I'm restarting this fic. It'll be like completing a dream that I had when I was 14.

The new and rewrite version of this will be titled, "To Hold Eternity", and it will update weekly. If I do not make deadline, anyone is welcome to criticize and curse me-in forms of reviews.


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